LAKELAND – An exciting back-and-forth FHSAA Class 6A girls basketball state championship game ended in heartache for Wekiva inside the closing minute Saturday at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas (17-4) took the lead for good when it turned a steal into a quick bucket with 58 seconds to play. The Mustangs (24-4) were never able to answer during a 62-60 loss.
Wekiva lost possession on a jump ball following a missed shot during its next time down the floor but got one last chance when Aquinas gave it right back on an unforced turnover with 14.5 seconds to spare.
Shaniyah McCarthy bounced an inbound pass toward K’Nari Holliday in the lower left part of the post, where Aquinas’ Jada Green reached around to disrupt the play. It was the 19th turnover of the night for Wekiva.
“We were trying to go inside. I thought there was contact there, but that’s neither here nor there,” said Butts. “We had something that we wanted set up but we just couldn’t do it.”
It was the third consecutive state final appearance for Wekiva. The Mustangs won the large-class title in 2019 and finished 6A state runners-up in 2020.
Freshman guard Jada Eads tallied a game-high 19 points and finished with seven rebounds in the loss. MCarthy added 12 points and seven rounds while Shadaria Smith accounted for 10 points before fouling out with four minutes to play.
Eads gave the Mustangs a 56-54 lead on a pair of free throws with 2:38 to go. But despite missing its next 4 of 5 shots from the field and 2 of 4 attempts from the foul line, Wekiva remained in position to win down the stretch.
“There were a couple possessions that could have gone our way, but didn’t go our way,” said Butts. “We were up by three and could’ve extended it to five on two possessions and didn’t do that, and they come down and get an and-one and closed it out. We just couldn’t finish.”
Smith was one of three Wekiva players to foul out, including Rylan Moffett with less than three minutes left.
“That was a huge turning point,” said Butts of the foul trouble. “And down the stretch we just didn’t execute in the last couple of possessions.”
The final period featured three ties and five lead changes.
“They fought. I can not complain about the effort and the energy that they provided,” said Butts. “I told them to use this as an experience going into next year and hopefully this situation will fuel their fire. This is a learning experience for our girls and hopefully we can close the deal next year.”
This story was first published at OrlandoSentinel.com. J.C. Carnahan can be reached by email at jcarnahan@orlandosentinel.com.
