Miami Country Day girls’ basketball is back on top after dominant win over Westminster
The way the past year unfolded didn’t sit well with the Miami Country Day girls’ basketball team.
It started with Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy sending the Spartans home in last year’s regional final on their way to winning a state championship.
Just before districts three weeks ago, Miami Country Day lost its best player, Kayla Nelms, to a hand injury.
A few days later, the Spartans watched Westminster celebrate a district championship at their expense.
On Friday night, Miami Country Day turned things back in its favor.
The Spartans took back the crown in Region 4-3A dominating Westminster Academy on their way to a 55-39 victory at their home gym.
“We proved all the haters wrong and this feels great,” senior Kristina Godfrey said. “When we played them in the district tournament and they found out Kayla wouldn’t play, they celebrated so we took that personally…Everyone’s contributions to the team played a role in this win.”
Next, Miami Country Day (23-7) will go for the prize it has won more times than any other Miami-Dade County team as it travels to Lakeland to chase its eighth state championship after winning seven in an eight-year span prior to last season.
The Spartans will host Jacksonville Providence in a Class 3A state semifinal at the RP Funding Center on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
“No coaches work their kids harder than we do and we knew that it would take a tremendous effort to get this done,” Miami Country Day coach Ochiel Swaby said. “Tonight was the first time in a while that I saw them play as hard as they work in practice.”
Without Nelms - the Spartans’ leading scorer (17.9 points per game) and rebounder (9.8 per game), Country Day had to lean on its younger players.
Eighth-grader Jalynn Belton emerged as a dominant force and led the Spartans with 19 points, five rebounds, three steals and three assists. Belton’s sharp shooting from outside, her defense and ability to attack the rim allowed the Spartans to take control early and out-score the Lions (22-8) in the second quarter, 15-4. Country Day made four of its five 3-pointers during that quarter including two clutch makes by Jada Johnson for her only points of the game.
Kaliyah Morales also had 10 points and six rebounds.
“As time went on, I started seeing something in these kids, and I started believing and we’ve been playing better,” Swaby said. “We’ve developed an identity without Kayla. We would love to have her here, but this team is starting to show how much they believe in themselves.”
Westminster Academy tried multiple times to stem the tide behind Markeli Jones-Tynes (14 points) and Lena Girardi (13 points). But the comeback run never came as Country Day never let up on the defensive end.
“This is absolutely a dream right now to say I’m going to states in eighth grade, that’s amazing,” said Belton, who is in her second season playing for Country Day.
Swaby said he challenged Godfrey (one of only three seniors on the Spartans’ roster) before the game to leave a lasting legacy.
Godfrey totaled 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists and did an excellent job of containing Westminster’s guards on the defensive end.
“He asked me how I am going to lead this team and I think I showed that tonight,” Godfrey said. “Now, we’re going to Lakeland.”
This story was originally published February 17, 2023 at 10:18 PM.
