Miami High girls’ basketball downs FSU High to capture the Junior Orange Bowl title
It took a mere few minutes for the Miami High Stingarees to lose arguably their best player to a nasty injury, but rather than succumb to the adversity they fought through it to post a convincing win that ended their 2021 with a championship.
The Stingarees (7-7) won the Junior Orange Bowl Classic in blowout fashion on Thursday night, defeating the FSU High Seminoles (9-3) by a 63-41 margin in the final that was played at Westminster High School.
Miami High had to overcome an early facial injury to senior guard Janay Quinn, but the Stingarees did just that with 56% shooting from the field and 44% from three-point range.
“Janay Quinn, she is our engine, she is our best player, she is the heart and soul of our team,” said Miami High coach Sam Baumgarten. “You lose a kid like that and the whole team steps up. That makes you so proud.”
Quinn helped set the tone with a pair of early three-pointers, but lost three teeth after landing hard onto the court following a collision. She was forced out of the game, sent to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and didn’t return.
“My first [thought] was just the sight of it because she has braces, so the brace line was out and the teeth were missing,” said Baumgarten. “I tried to calm her down a little bit … and then the second was telling my team that we have been through this before.”
It sure looked like it. Senior guard Danajah Peterson led the way for the Stingarees with 16 points en route to being named MVP after the game.
Contributions came from almost everywhere and everyone, as Miami High went 6 of 14 from beyond the arc in the first half before taking things down low after halftime. Their perimeter shooting kept longtime Miami Heat PA announcer Michael Baiamonte, who was in attendance, particularly busy with his trademark three-point calls.
The Stingarees’ other top scorers in the title tussle were Daimelys Morena and Hazel Hernandez with eight points apiece, Cameron Araujo with seven, and Sydney Wilson and Quinn with six each.
In total, 10 players got on the board for Miami High. while every FSU High player that scored aside from senior guard Tonie Morgan (21 points) was held to single-digit marks.
“All in all, definitely a team win,” Baumgarten said. “Definitely.”
The championship win gives the Stingarees momentum for what lies ahead in the new year. Miami High is next scheduled to play Braddock on Jan. 5.
“We needed this,” Baumgarten said. “This was big for us going into 2022. I think it is going to build confidence in the kids.”
BOYS’ FINAL
Mississippi’s Madison Ridgeland took down Ohio’s Lakota East High, 84-65, in the boys’ championship game. Josh Hubbard, who led Ridgeland with 33 points, was named tournament MVP while Harrison Alexander had 31.
This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 10:21 PM.