Undeterred American Heritage girls’ basketball team aiming to extend dominant title run
Whether it’s your second time or your ninth time at the state final four, you grasp the significance of the moment if you’re wearing an American Heritage basketball jersey.
And you don’t let a little thing like the flu stop you.
Junior guard Ta’Niyah Davis, in particular, wasn’t feeling great on Tuesday afternoon.
But you could have fooled anyone who watched her score 25 points and collect 12 rebounds to lead the Patriots’ girls’ basketball team to a 71-48 victory over Tallahassee Rickards in a Class 4A state semifinal at the RP Funding Center.
“How can you not have a great game? It’s the state semis,” said Davis, a four-star 2026 prospect who has offers from multiple Division-I schools including FIU, FAU, South Alabama and Tulsa. “I had to show up when my team needed me. It’s a big deal. There’s no chillin’. It’s the state semis and we’re trying to win a ring.”
Davis is playing in her second state final four.
American Heritage is making its ninth consecutive appearance, which is tied with Miami Country Day for the longest such streak in state history.
And the Patriots (21-8) will attempt to win their second state title in a row and seventh in the past eight seasons when they take on Melbourne Palm Bay on Thursday at 5 p.m.
“We had a lot of adversity with injuries and the girls are peaking at the right time and keeping it together,” American Heritage coach Greg Farias said. “They believed in each other even when others didn’t and we’re defending our title and looking for another one.”
Heritage having players dealing with flu-like symptoms is par for the course in a season where it’s had to deal with adversity due to several injuries.
But the experience the Patriots have with four of their starters from last year’s championship team being back in Lakeland proved valuable on Tuesday.
“Ta’Niyah has really bought into the system and she gets better and better every day,” Farias said. “Her defense is key and you can see what she can do offensively. Not bad while fighting the flu.”
Junior guard Jasleen Green finished with 21 points, four assists and three rebounds. Green, who surpassed 1,000 points as a sophomore, has over 30 Division-I offers including UCF, Clemson, FIU, FAU, Temple and Stetson.
Dezuray McGill, a Long Island University signee and the lone senior in Heritage’s lineup, showed her versatility with nine points, five rebounds and a pair of steals.
Isabella Aloisio provided some depth with 10 points including 2 of 3 shooting from 3-point range off the bench.
The Patriots trailed briefly 3-1 at the start of the game and took the lead for good less than two minutes into the contest. Rickards cut the deficit to as close as six in the second half, but Heritage intensified its defense and never let the Raiders (20-4) put together an extended scoring run.
“The biggest thing we couldn’t forget was our defense,” Farias said. “We had to get our 2-2-1 press going and make sure we turn them around and make them realize defense wins championships. Whenever they made a run, we went back into the press and made sure they didn’t get comfortable.”
This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 5:09 PM.
