Miami High girls basketball stymies South Broward for regional title, return to Lakeland

Miami High hypnotized defenders with an overactive passing attack and shut down a first-half rally to beat South Broward 52-36 on Friday for the girls basketball Region 4-7A title.

The home-court victory clinched a spot for the Stingarees (19-8) in next weekend’s state semifinals, where they’ll look to avenge their 2021 state final loss.

Miami High faces Orlando Colonial in a 7A state semifinal game at 2:30 p.m. Friday in Lakeland.

“We’ve been through a lot,” said senior guard Janay Quinn, who scored a game-high 18 points in the win. “I’ve lost a few teammates through COVID. I was out for a month.

“This means a lot. We are hoping to bring it home.”

The Stingarees went on an 8-0 run off the tip-off, but the Bulldogs (22-5) bounced back to take a brief second-quarter lead.

South Broward’s Jamesha Card powered the rally, scoring a dozen of her team-high 16 points in the first half. Card used excellent footwork and body control to overpower defenders before the Stingarees picked up their intensity.

Quinn responded with nine points, including two 3-pointers, late in the second quarter to give her team a 30-16 lead at the break. The Stingarees, who shared the ball relentlessly to make the Bulldogs scramble, ended the half on a 17-1 run and never looked back.

“We felt that we had to speed it up and try to wear them down,” Stingarees coach Sam Baumgarten said. “We know how talented they are, but we thought we had more numbers.”

Card and the Bulldogs outscored the Stingarees 12-9 in the third, but couldn’t close the gap. Miami outscored South Broward 13-8 down the stretch.

“When your team starts to make a run and you see them wearing down, you push the gas and put the pedal to the metal,” Quinn said.

Joelle Wilson and Naire Lucas scored nine points apiece for the Stingarees. Hazel Hernandez totaled eight points in the win. Kamyra Butler scored 10 for the Bulldogs.

More Regional Final results

▪ Region 4-6A: St. Thomas Aquinas 79, Seminole Ridge 25

▪ Region 4-5A: Plantation American Heritage 72, Okeechobee 36

▪ Region 4-3A: Calvary Christian 64, Mater Lakes Academy 63

▪ Region 4-2A: Miami Christian 67, Palm Beach Berean Christian 29

This story was originally published February 18, 2022 at 9:54 PM.