Ta’Niya Latson leads American Heritage to rout of Pine Forest and berth in 5A title game
As Greg Farias reloaded his roster after three of his top-five scorers from last season graduated and a fourth transferred out, he remained hesitant about if his team could make it back to the state series.
It wasn’t a matter of if Plantation American Heritage was going to have the talent to make another title run. His roster is filled with playmakers.
But until he saw how that talent meshed on the floor when it mattered, Farias wanted to hold off on making any grand predictions.
His players? They certainly didn’t look like a team that lost a step or had any doubts on the court.
They weren’t shy about expressing that feeling, either, after their 77-49 blowout win over Pensacola Pine Forest in Thursday’s Class 5A state semifinal at Lakeland’s RP Funding Center.
“We’re very confident that we’re going to win,” senior Ta’Niya Latson said.
“If we play our game,” fellow senior Joey Delancy said, “we’ll be fine.”
If American Heritage does get it done in Saturday’s Class 5A title game, it will become just the third school to win five consecutive girls’ basketball state championships, joining Jacksonville Ribault (1999 to 2003) and Miami Country Day (2014 to 2019).
And if American Heritage does get it done, chances are Latson will once again be a focal point to the Patriots’ success.
Latson, a McDonald’s All-American and Florida State University signee who transferred to American Heritage from Atlanta Westlake, was unstoppable for the Patriots in their Class 5A state semifinal win — just like she has been all season.
Latson’s final stat line on Thursday: 31 points on 12 for 17 shooting, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals before sitting for all but 25 seconds of the final four minutes after American Heritage (24-4) went up by more than 30 points.
This isn’t anything new, though. Latson has averaged 26.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 5.3 steals per game this year.
In short, she’s the whole package as a player.
She attacks the rim with authority, makes slick passes and has a solid jump shot.
She’s aggressive on defense and turns that defense into offense. Latson turned all four of her steals in the second quarter into layups after taking the ball the length of the court herself.
But the beauty of it all: Latson knows she doesn’t have to do everything by herself.
Delancy and senior Emani Theodule also scored in double figures. Delancy had 13 points, while Theodule added 10 of her own in the rout.
“I want to involve everybody,” Latson said. “Everybody has a role to play, and I hold everybody accountable.”
Latson is as excited for her teammates’ success as she is for her own.
She was louder celebrating a Serenity Aragon three-point play in the third-quarter — one that put Heritage up 58-35 — than she was any of her highlight reel-worthy plays on Thursday.
“I always say the difference between a good player and a great player is a person that makes her teammates better,” Farias said. “That’s what this young lady does.”
This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 3:09 PM.
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