South Broward, Nova pull off upsets in BCAA Big 8 girls’ basketball tournament
Anyone who was expecting a big Dillard-Flanagan showdown in the BCAA Big 8 girls’ basketball tournament on Saturday night won’t get their wish.
That’s because both fell victim to the upset bug on Friday night at South Plantation High School, as South Broward knocked off Dillard 52-50 in the opening semifinal before Nova pulled off an even bigger shocker when the Titans knocked off Flanagan 50-42 in the second game. Nova (15-8) and South Broward (20-6) will tip off the BCAA title game at 7 p.m.
Flanagan (20-4), ranked No. 2 in the Miami Herald’s South Florida poll coming in, jumped out to an early seven-point lead and led by four (22-18) at halftime. But the Titans got hot from the outside and started dropping three-pointers to the tune of seven of them, six in the second half, including back-to-back threes to close out the third quarter — that turned a 34-30 deficit into a 36-34 lead.
Rikiah Cowart led the way for Nova with 19 points, followed by Samaria August with 11 and Gabrielle Gonzalez with 10. Gonzalez had three of Nova’s three-pointers.
“The idea coming in tonight was to go out there and try and take away their two best players [Mikiah Harrigan and Jenniffer Oramas], and the girls did a great job out there,” Nova coach Jason Hively said. “Nobody really expected us to win, so there really wasn’t a whole lot of pressure on our end.”
There were no state, regional or district titles on the line when South Broward and Dillard squared off, but you would’ve never known that the way two of the most decorated long-time programs in Broward County went at it in the opening semifinal.
When the final buzzer sounded, it was the South Broward girls who spilled out on the floor in celebration, as the No. 8-ranked team in the Miami Herald’s South Florida poll came through with the high-intensity, nailbiting upset win over No. 5-ranked and defending 5A state champion Dillard.
South Broward, which lost a close one (50-47) to Dillard (17-5) in the regular-season opener in November, was led by a pair of juniors, Mackenzie Sadaka and Shante Walker, who finished with 13 points each. But Walker was the real workhorse, as she completed a double-double performance with 13 rebounds.
“We just had to play together, stay together, play smart basketball and keep our poise down the stretch,” Walker said. “This was a big win for us win tonight. They doubted us, so we just had to come out here and work hard and now we want to win it [Saturday] night.”
Walker scored all 13 of her points in the first half and then turned things over to Sadaka, who scored 11 of her 13 in the second half, including a huge three pointer with 2:51 left that put South Broward up 50-42.
But Dillard, with its high-intensity, full-court press that forced 18 South Broward turnovers, put the heat on, forcing five turnovers en route to a 7-2 run over the next two minutes.
When Sadaka missed the front end of a one-and-one with 18 seconds left, the Panthers had a chance to tie it with a three, but an ill-advised pass by Simira Higgins went out of bounds with two seconds left.
“A lot of these girls know each other from playing AAU ball together, so it’s always competitive and always good basketball, and it was obviously a tremendous game tonight,” said South Broward coach Richard Walker, who is not related to Shante.
▪ South Broward 52, Dillard 50: DIL (17-5): Allen 18, Woods 9, Johnson 8, Wilks 6, Huggins 3, Grier 3, Emmanuel 3; SB: Walker 13, Sadaka 13, McClain 11, Leaks 11, Wright 2, Edema 2; HT: 23-23. Three-pointers: Wilks 2, Walker 2, Allen, Huggins, Emmanuel, Sadaka.
▪ Nova 50, Flanagan 42: FLA (20-4): Harrigan 14, Marquez 13, Howard 11, Oramas 2, Mompelas 2; NOV(15-8): Cowart 19, August 11, Gonzalez 10, Gutierrez 6, Salin 2, Russell 2; HT: Flan 22-18. Three-pointers: Gonzalez 3, Marquez 3, Howard 3, Cowart 2, August 2.
MORE GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
▪ St. Brendan 58, SLAM 32: SB (17-7): Dominguez 15, Armas 2, Prieto 1, Lara 7, Padro 15, Vidal 1, Sanchez 17. HT: 25-20 SB. Three-pointers: Lara, Padro. Rebounds: Padro 11. Assists: Armas 4. Steals: Sanchez 4.
▪ Westminster 45, Florida Christian 33: FC: Castellano 11, M. Nunez 11. Blocks: Irvine 3.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
▪ Belen 70, Sunset 66 (OT): BEL (18-4): Salazar 17, Milton 3, Mejer 3, Rodriguez 7, Consuegra 16, Romeu 20, Barnola 4. SUN: Leon 3, Pierce 5, Novali 6, Williams 12, Isaac 16, Veloz 12, Oquando 11. Rebounds: Romeu 18. Assists: Consuegra 7. Blocks: Romeu 2. HT: 29-24 BEL.
▪ South Miami 45, Columbus 31: SM: Dawson 16, Stewart 11, Arnold 2, Davis 7, Wright 6, Ferguson 2, Rivera 1. COL: Figueredo 3, Martell 2, Mata 3, Mas 8, Davis 4, Rodriguez 7, Brooks 2, Cooper 2. Rebounds: Stewart 14. Assist: Dawson 6. Steals: Dawson 7. Blocks: Stewart 5. HT: 23-7 SM.
▪ Florida Christian 60, Coral Reef 57: FC(11-10): Dahlan 4, Valdes 9, Wright 24, Perez 23. CR (16-5) : Vreones 10, Arabitg 10, Farradas 7, Bryan 11, Holcombe 19. Three-pointers: Valdes 3, Wright 3, Vreones 2, Arabitg, Farradas, Holcombe 2. Rebounds: Perez 12. Assists: Valdes 5. HT: 38-23 FC.
▪ American 65, Krop 55: KRO: Jeanty 19, Arauna 6, James 3, Oconner 3, Clarke 13, Souza 7, Jones 4. AME: Johnson 9, Jones 4, Harris 25, Evans 5, Copeland 1, Vilchez 15, Petit-Frere 6. HT: 32-20 AM. Three-pointers: Arauna 2, James, Oconner, Clarke 2, Johnson, Harris. Rebounds: Harris 12. Assists: Evans 5, Johnson 5. Steals: Evans 3.
▪ Ferguson 54, Braddock 46: FER: Navarra 4, Perez 6, R Gonzalez 4, Adan 2, Osceola 19, Fernandez 4, Smith 3, D Gonzalez 10. BRA: Garcia 11, Grant 11, Hernandez 7, Molinares 9, Gomez 2.
▪ Booker T. Washington 73, Hialeah Miami Lakes 65: BTW:Burnett 16, Clear 17, Dixon 11, Higgins 13, Morris 7, Lucas 6, Henry 3. HML: Castillo 11, Zamora 25, Copeland 8, Williams 5, Prado 10, Fernandez 3, Alvarez 17. Three-pointers: Clear 4, Dixon 2, Zamora 7. Rebounds: Higgins 11. HT: 43-39 BTW.
▪ Palmer Trinity 36, Miami Community Charter 30: PT (10-10): Montalvo 22, Diaz 8, Devine 4, Friedland 2. MCC (6-9): Brewster 11, Sanchez 6, Appleby 5, Conde 5, Carter 3. HT: PT 22-20. Three-pointers: Montalvo 6, Brewster, Appleby, Carter, Conde. Rebounds: Montalvo 11. Steals: Montalvo 3. Assists: Friedland 2.
▪ La Salle 65, Pace 49: LS (11-6): I.Cruz 11, J.Cruz 6, Contreras 18, Gaetan 12, Garcia 6, Pita 8, Lopez II 4. MP: Del Castillo 22, L. St. Fleur 10, St. Fleur 2, Brunson 8, Green 3, Smart 4. Rebounds: J. Cruz 11. Assists: I. Cruz 8. Steals: I. Cruz 3. Blocks: Contreras 3. Three-pointers: Gaetan 2. HT: LS 32-23.
▪ Doral 58, Jackson 26: DA (15-7): Menendez 12 Starks 11 Corraliza 11 Nunez 8 Lopez 4 Castellano 3 Carrocera 3 Fernandez 2 Cobas 2. JAX: Cherisier 9 Bragg 6 Cribbs 4 Homme 2 Thompson 2 Hunt 1. Three-pointers: Corraliza 3. Steals: Starks 6. Assists: Enriquez 4. Rebounds: Menendez 11. HT: 27-13 DA.
▪ Hialeah Educational 62, Hollywood Christian 52: HEA(13-10): St. Clair 23, Nadal 13, Torres 9, Lara 9, Cedeno 4, Arce 2. HC: Steve 15, Wes 11, Anton 10, Brandon 6, Lucious 5, Sam 3, Joven 2. Rebounds: St. Clair 16. Blocks: St. Clair 5. Assists: Lara 6. Three-pointers: Nadal 3.
BOYS’ SOCCER
▪ District 16-3A final — Jackson 2, Mourning 0: Kevin Caballero 2 goals. Junior Padilla shutout. JAX 16-1-4.
▪ Ransom Everglades 2, Mast Academy 0: Michael Colonna goal, assist. Antoine Esber goal. Antonio Ferrer shoutout. RE 19-4.
▪ District 14-5A final — Cooper City 2, American 1: Cesar Cano 2 goals. Miko Tejada assist. Alonso Mendoza assist. CC 11-5.
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
Respect Series at Westminster Academy: McArthur vs. Riviera Beach Inlet Grove, 9:30 a.m.; Riviera Beach Suncoast vs. Coral Reef, 11 a.m.; Coral Springs Charter vs. Central, 12:30; Southridge vs. Fort Lauderdale, 2; Winter Garden West Orange vs. Zion Lutheran, 3:30; Orlando Liberty Christian vs. Northeast, 5; Auburndale vs. Coral Gables, 6:30; Mater Academy vs. Norland, 8; Chaminade-Madonna vs. Westminster Academy, 9:30.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
BCAA Big 8 final at South Plantation: 7
BOYS’ SOCCER
District 14-4A final at Blanche Ely: 7
District 16-4A final at Traz Powell: 4
District 13-1A final at Westminster Academy: 7
District 14-1A final at Miami Country Day: 8
This story was originally published January 23, 2016 at 12:07 AM with the headline "South Broward, Nova pull off upsets in BCAA Big 8 girls’ basketball tournament."