St. Thomas Aquinas girls’ basketball tops Nova to return to state final four

For most of the past 20 years, the Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas girls’ basketball team had struggled to find a solution how to defeat Davie Nova.

Dating back to 2006, Nova leads the all-time series 23-3. Aquinas had won three consecutive games against the Titans until a four-point loss in the BCAA Big 8 final on Jan. 31.

But on Friday night in the Region 4-6A final, St. Thomas Aquinas rallied from an 11-point third quarter deficit to earn a 60-56 victory over Nova and a berth in the state semifinals.

The Raiders will take on Tampa Steinbrenner on March 12 at a time to be determined in a 6A state semifinal at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.

Aquinas (20-8) will attempt to win a fifth state championship in six seasons. The won four consecutive titles from 2021-24.

Sophomore guard London Thomas scored a game high 27 points to rally her team into position for a win.

Nova senior Jaelynn Housey dropped a pair of free-throws with 34.3 seconds remaining in regulation that tied the score 56-56.

Senior guard Ronneisha Thomas, who had missed six weeks due to a broken left hand, sank a clutch 3-pointer with 13.1 seconds left for a 59-56 lead. Laila Barnett sealed the win on a free throw with 3.6 seconds left.

“Got to be poised,” Thomas said about her clutch 3-pointer. “I worked on that shot before the game every day in practice. When the moment came, I just had to knock it down.”

The Raiders’ defense played a big part in the comeback after trailing 45-34 in the third quarter. They held Nova (23-5) scoreless during a six-minute stretch, all the while London Thomas scored 18 second half points.

“This was a big-team effort for the win,” Thomas said. “We had to stick together and keep pushing. We had worked too hard to be best team in the state. We had to get back at Nova to get to Jacksonville.”

The Raiders cut their double-digit third quarter deficit to within 45-40 entering the decisive fourth quarter.

“We just didn’t execute down the stretch,” said Nova coach Jadon Hively. “The girls gave a great effort but just didn’t execute. We just didn’t hit some shots that we needed to get.”

Housey had 14 points for the Titans, while Ke’Mora Evans led the team with 15 points. Ya’Niyah Young added 13 points.