American Heritage girls reclaim their throne after overtime victory over Mainland
American Heritage planned what happened this week in Lakeland for a year.
Making it back to the state final four.
Avenging last year’s loss in the state final to Daytona Beach Mainland.
About the only thing the Patriots didn’t plan that far ahead was the dancing they busted into on the court at the RP Funding Center after Friday’s Class 5A state championship game.
“We have a great rapport with some of the guys at the local rec center here and we ended up (dance) battling them a little bit,” American Heritage coach Greg Farias said. “We just wanted them to do it in a way that was respectful to the game.”
American Heritage released a year’s worth of emotions with every dance move its players busted while huddled by teammates following a 60-55 overtime win over Mainland.
A year after the Patriots had their streak of five consecutive state titles snapped by a 62-61 loss to the Bucs, Heritage added a sixth state title to its trophy collection as well as some gold medals to put next to the silver ones that motivated them for the previous 12 months.
“Oh yeah, it’s going right next to that silver medal,” said Heritage forward Dezuray McGill, who said she had looked at her silver medal as a source of motivation every day since that loss in the 2023 final. “And then we’re coming back to get that again and put another one next to it.”
With only one senior on their roster, it’s easy to believe McGill’s prediction for the Patriots (25-6) could come true.
American Heritage’s sixth state title ties it for the second-most among Broward County girls’ basketball programs with South Broward and behind only Dillard, which has 10 championships.
The Patriots also became the first Broward program to win six championships in a seven-year span and only the second ever in state history, joining Miami Country Day.
“This one compares to the first one to be honest,” Farias said. “We went from being hunted to being a hunter again. We’ve been here (in Lakeland) eight years in a row. That just doesn’t happen. So for us to come back and claim the championship is super special.”
In what was its seventh consecutive appearance in a state championship game, which tied Miami Country Day and Orlando Lake Highland Prep for the longest streaks in state history of making it to a state final, Heritage needed an extra four minutes to earn vindication.
And the Patriots got it with defense.
Mainland’s Jade Parks tied the game at 49 with 1:22 left but missed a go-ahead free throw. After Heritage came up empty on its ensuing possession, Mainland (18-13) held for a final shot with 40 seconds left. Anovia Sheals was stripped of the ball, however, with under six seconds left and Heritage came up with the ball just as time expired.
“Honestly, what I was thinking about the whole time was that we got this,” Green said. “I knew we were going to stop them. I knew it for a fact.”
The Patriots then took control in overtime thanks to the sharp shooting of Taniyah Davis, who hit three-pointers on consecutive possessions to put Heritage ahead for good.
“I had a bad four quarters and I knew that I needed to contribute in some type of way so last minute that’s what we needed and I just had to make them,” Davis said.
Green led the Patriots with 27 points including her final four points in overtime to help put the game out of reach. Mainland committed the last of its 14 turnovers with 15.2 seconds left effectively ending any chance of a comeback. Yinuo Wang was one of Heritage’s key defenders with three steals to go along with her eight points.
“We knew we didn’t wanna fall short again,” Farias said. “We know we could score, but this year we defended better. For that week we were off everything we did was defense. They walked in, and they believed in what we’ve had to do. We were in that 2-1-2 and when we switched to that matchup zone that’s when we had them.”
Heritage didn’t just dominate defensively, but on the boards as well. It was something the Patriots emphasized in practice with the extra week to prepare for the state tournament.
Heritage outrebounded Mainland 40-29 led by McGill’s 12 boards. Davis also had nine rebounds in addition to her 12 points.
“It was physical down there and it was tough, but we had to do what we had to do to bring home a state title,” McGill said.
Added Farias: “We have to have at least 10 more rebounds than everybody,” Farias said. “Dezuray had to be double double for us tonight to win. On the film it showed that every time they missed, they at least touched the ball or got an offensive rebound so we knew if we dominated that category we’d be in good shape.”
Farias said Heritage really gelled after beating three-time reigning state champion St. Thomas Aquinas late in the regular season. The Patriots ended the season winning 15 of their last 17 games.
“One of the biggest things was that we stayed together, no matter what the circumstances were,” Farias said.
The Patriots will be favored to start a new championship streak next season since they lose only one senior, guard Tyra Blue.
On Friday, Heritage paid homage to Blue during its postgame celebration giving her an ovation that brought the senior to tears on the court.
“Tyra is the glue of this team,” Davis said. “We’re gonna be missing a big piece next year without her.”
“She’s a special young lady. She always covers the best player on the other team,” Farias said. “She doesn’t care if she gets one point or 5 points. Everybody loves her. She’s quiet but she’s the glue of this team.”
This story was originally published March 8, 2024 at 11:42 PM.
