By Dave Brousseau - BCAA Writer
FORT LAUDERDALE – The St. Thomas Aquinas girls basketball team entered the BCAA Big 8 championship with seven consecutive appearances in the finals. Oakland Park Northeast was making it’s first in school history.
Experience in the finals didn’t matter as the Hurricanes stunned the four-time defending state champion 42-39 at Fort Lauderdale High School on Saturday.
Senior guard Nykeria Flowers scored nine of her game-high 20 points to help rally Northeast from a 10-point halftime deficit. She was named the MVP of the Tournament, averaging 16 points in three games.
“We never gave up and found a way to win,” said Northeast coach Lawrence Hanna. “It doesn’t matter what type of game it is we still have work to do. We had to credit our defense, and I told them in the locker room at the half to keep fighting.”
The 39 points for the Raiders was the second fewest in their BCAA Big 8 championship history. They scored only 24 in last year’s loss to Blanche Ely. Aquinas (15-8) would go on to win the Class 6A state title.
Northeast (23-2) outscored Aquinas 14-7 in the final quarter between Flowers and Ya’Nitah Young’s five points.
“When we came out in the second half, I already knew we had this in the bag,” said Flowers, who was named the Marcia Pinder MVP Player of the tournament. “We have a lot of confidence and we’re doing something here that hasn’t been done here in a long time.”
Raiders guard London Thomas tied the score at 39-39 with 37.5 seconds left in regulation.
Summer Williams scored her only points of the game for the Hurricanes on a two-point basket with 15.6 remaining. It gave Northeast the lead they never relinquished.
“Today was more about the Northeast defense,” said Aquinas coach Brandon Stewart. “This was a good environment for us to learn in. This will make us better.”
The first half was low on offensive efficiency, high on defensive coverage.
The Raiders used their height both under the basket and perimeter to hold the Hurricanes to four second quarter points for a 25-15 lead at the halftime break.
Fortunately, for Northeast, Aquinas wasn’t lighting up the scoreboard either. That would ultimately cost the Raiders in crunch time.
Dave Brousseau can be reached on X at @dbrouss76 – or via e-mail at:
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