Aquinas denies Wekiva for 6A title

LAKELAND — Samara Spencer stole the ball, then drove for the go-ahead layup with 58 seconds remaining, and St. Thomas Aquinas held on in the final minute to defeat Wekiva 62-60 on Saturday night in the Class 6A championship game of the 2021 FHSAA Girls Basketball Finals at the RP Funding Center.

The victory gave St. Thomas its first state title in girls basketball.

"I'm really proud of our girls," St. Thomas coach said Oliver Berens said. "I told these girls they're now part of history. This is the first (girls basketball) state championship in school history, and this group has been resilient all year. They've been able to follow game plans and execute for 32 minutes. We never got down, even when the game was leaning their (Mustangs) way."

Trailing 60-57 after Jada Eads' basket with 1:59 to play, the Raiders held the Mustangs scoreless the rest of the game.

Wekiva had the chance to go up five on its next possession, but Eads missed a shot. Spencer was fouled and made two free throws to make it a one-point game with 1:20 to play.

The teams then traded turnovers with Spencer coming up with the steal and scoring the winning points.

Eads missed a shot on Wekiva's next possession, giving Aquinas the chance to run the clock down, but the Raiders turned the ball over, giving the Mustangs the ball with 15 seconds left.

Wekiva could not get a shot off as Shaniyah McCarthy was forced into a turnover with seven seconds left. 

St. Thomas' Jada Green was fouled with five seconds left and made one free throw. 

Wekiva rebounded the missed free throw but could not get the ball up the court quickly enough for a final shot.

Spencer finished with a team-high 17 points along with seven rebounds and five steals.

Green chipped in with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Karina Gordon scored 15 points, and Breanna Gustave added 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Eads, who scored 30 points in the semifinals against Winter Haven, led Wekiva with 19 points and seven rebounds. McCarthy added 12 points and seven rebounds and K'Nari Holliday and Shadaria Smith added 11 and 10 points respectively.

Wekiva had three players foul out.

"That was a huge turning point," Wekiva coach Tommie Butts said. "Down the stretch, we just didn't executive on our last couple of possessions."