It took just two moves to produce a four-peat.
Lake Highland Prep unleashed a second-half press and transfer guard Jada Eads put her foot on the gas to pull away from well-disciplined Jacksonville Bishop Kenny, 55-45, and win the FHSAA Class 4A state championship on Saturday at RP Funding Center.
The win was the fourth consecutive girls basketball state championship for the Highlanders (25-6). It was also the sixth state championship for the program, which also won back-to-back titles in 2015 and ’16.
“It is an incredible feeling, and I am just a guy standing out front, ” said Lake Highland Prep coach Al Honor, a 1984 West Orange High graduate. “I have been blessed to coach some wonderful young ladies that want the same thing that I do. The culture was set a long time ago and they did a great job of upholding that culture.”
Eads, a junior guard, transferred from Wekiva where she was part of two-consecutive 6A state runner-up finishes during her freshman and sophomore seasons. She led all scorers with 21 points – 10 in the pivotal fourth quarter – to hammer down her first state championship.
Lake Highland guard Lexi Blue, who finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds, picked up her third foul midway through the third quarter but remained on the floor through the rest of a defensive battle and never picked up her fourth.
“This whole year we’ve had a lot of close games, and we played some of the top teams in the country and it didn’t end the way we wanted it to. So, to have this happen and have the four-peat was big for us,” Blue said.
Highlanders senior guard Eleecia Carter, who has been with the program since the sixth grade, finished with 10 points while going 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
LHP found itself trailing 17-13 at the half with the Crusaders displaying great patience with the ball on offense. When the third quarter arrived, however, Honor made the first move to switch to full-court pressure defense.
“[Bishop Kenny] played a good game, but our girls woke up and I woke up and realized what was going on. It was time for us to turn it up a little bit and I was really proud of the way they responded,” he said.
“[Bishop Kenny] did a great job of slowing the game down in minimizing possessions, and it worked because when I looked up there was just three minutes left in the first half. I was like, ‘Wow, we never applied pressure’ and usually I do.”
Crusaders post player Clare Coyle fouled out with 3:03 left and the Highlanders led 42-36. Coyle was a rebounding force, hauling down 14 – 12 on the defensive glass.
“We went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the state for three quarters, and we just ran out of gas a little bit in the fourth quarter,” Bishop Kenny coach Will Mayer said.
This report was first published at Orlandosentinel.com. Varsity Content Editor Buddy Collings can be reached by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.
