Blanche Ely girls’ basketball team’s return to state ends short of championship
Blanche Ely’s girls’ basketball team finally cleared a big roadblock this season.
After five years of setbacks, the Tigers broke through to the state final four, and earned the chance to win their fourth state title all-time and first since 2020.
But the celebratory ending Ely has envisioned since former assistant coach James Green returned to the program last year did not come to pass on Friday.
A back-and-forth, physical struggle with Pensacola Booker T. Washington ended with the Tigers lamenting squandered opportunities and wondering what could have been after a deflating 56-54 loss in the Class 5A state championship game at UNF Arena.
“It’s a hard pill to swallow right now, but I’m proud of this team for what they accomplished because a lot of teams aren’t here right now,” Green said. “I’m proud of what they did.”
Ely (21-6) led for most of the game until a fourth quarter, which saw seven lead changes.
The Wildcats (24-3), who won their first state championship since 2000 and fifth overall, took their final lead with 1:06 left on a layup by Kalyn Thomas.
Isyss Mims, who led Ely with 17 points and six rebounds, missed a go-ahead shot before Ely called timeout following a near turnover with 38.6 seconds left. Mims then turned the ball over. With three fouls to give before Washington would be in the bonus, the Wildcats were able to work the clock down to 7.4 seconds left until Ely fouled Amauri Hall, sending her to the free throw line.
Hall missed both free throws and for a moment, it appeared Mims had secured the rebound off the second miss. But Keviana Williams swooped in and took the ball out of Mims’ grasp, and dribbled off more time until she was fouled with one second left.
Williams hit only one of two free throws, but it didn’t matter as Ely’s desperation heave from the other end of the court fell way short as time expired.
“It was a good game and I knew it was going to be scrappy,” Green said. “If we could have controlled the boards, we would have controlled the game, but we couldn’t.”
It was a very physical game from the outset as both teams consistently made each possession a struggle as they combined for 27 turnovers and 34 personal fouls.
Washington appeared to have suffered a costly setback in the first quarter when 6-3 senior center and FSU signee Chamiah Francis went down with a knee injury with 6:27 left. Francis returned to the game a minute later, but then exited again with 4:44 left after limping off the court. Francis did not return.
Still, Ely couldn’t take advantage of her absence fully.
The Tigers were outrebounded 35-25, including a 17-15 disadvantage on the offensive glass.
Teriyah McFadden finished with 14 points and eight rebounds for Ely while Sariyah Sabb had nine points and Aniyah Gooden finished with eight points.
McFadden and Mims are the only seniors on the Tigers’ roster.
“All game, we just didn’t rebound the game well,” Green said. “They fought for it, and they deserved it.”
