By Dave Brousseau - BCAA Writer
FORT LAUDERDALE – The final result was a complete shocker.
With a new coach Steph Doctor taking over five games ago the Miami Southridge girls’ basketball team had the improbable task of upsetting four-time defending state champion in St. Thomas Aquinas in a Class 6A regional semifinal on Tuesday night.
Led by sophomore point guard Naya Hardisson’s game-high 21 points the Spartans proved they were a team not to be overlooked following a 52-49 stunning victory.
Southridge (15-10) advances to Friday’s regional final on the road against Nova. The Titans defeated Martin County 63-25 behind 21 points from Jaelynn Housey.
“They were the four-time state champs, and we came out and did what we had to do and came out on top,” said Hardisson. “We have heart, played together and we played as a team and that’s what we did today.”
“We’ve been underdogs everywhere we’ve gone. This game we wanted it more and we got it, she added.”
The victory came off the heels of a loss to Aquinas in last year’s regional semifinal 65-43.
The Spartans defense held Aquinas to only 11 points in each of the first three quarters and led 40-33 entering the decisive fourth quarter. One that the Raiders typically control.
“We needed to make big plays at the right time,” said St. Thomas Aquinas coach Brandon Stewart. “The ball didn’t go in the basket at certain points into the game. This hurts bad and tough to take this loss right now.”
Nyla McFadden gave the Raiders a 43-42 lead with 5:06 to play and again with 1:50 remaining with a two-point basket for a 48-47 advantage.
Hardisson stepped up big as time was expiring on a Raiders comeback bid with five straight points to help seal the victory.
“We played as a family, played hard and played together,” said Southridge coach Steph Doctor, who took over head coaching duties during the GMAC tournament. “We also played great defense. We communicated on defense well. It was the best defense we’ve played all year.”
In addition to Hardisson’s scoring, freshman guard Sakura Barnes added 12 points and senior forward Emily Jean-Glauded 11 points.
Aquinas was led by McFadden with 15 points and London Thomas with 13 points.
Slow starts for the Aquinas (18-9) offense were increasingly becoming a concern.
They were sluggish for much of the opening half. In addition, the Raiders top two offensive threats in Thomas and McFadden managed only 10 points between them and would trail to the Spartans 26-22 at the break.
Aquinas only led Olympic Heights 12-11 after one quarter of last week’s regional quarterfinal before winning 79-33.
“As coaches we wish we could control everything, but at the end of the day we had to play the game,” said Stewart. “This is very disappointing that we won’t have the opportunity to win a fifth title.
This is going to keep me up tonight.”
PHOTO CAPTION: St. Thomas Aquinas coach Brandon Stewart talks to his team during a time out late in the Class 6A regional semifinal game against Miami Southridge.
Dave Brousseau can be reached on X at @dbrouss76 – or via e-mail at:
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