Miami Christian girls’ basketball cruises past St. John Neumann to reach 2A title game
The Miami Christian girls’ basketball team understands what it takes to play at this stage. The Victors built their season around being prepared for this final push in the state championships just like they did a year ago.
And now, they’re one win away from defending their state title.
It was a little sloppy at times, but a balanced scoring effort and scrappy defense helped Miami Christian cruise past Naples St. John Neumann 68-47 on Wednesday in a Class 2A state semifinal at Lakeland’s RP Funding Center. Miami Christian (20-8) will face Orlando Faith Christian for the state title at 10 a.m. Saturday. Faith Christian beat Jacksonville University Christian 37-33 in the other semifinal.
“A win is a win,” Miami Christian third-year coach Chanel Davila said. “We’re really, really excited to get back to that stage, no matter what happened.”
The Victors have been on a rise since Davila took over the Miami Christian girls’ basketball program ahead of the 2019-2020 season. They reached the regional final her that year before winning their first state title in 2021.
Now, they’re back in the title game and feel like they are at the point where playing for a state title is an expectation, not a goal.
“Everybody has grown,” senior Enjulina Gonzalez said. “Our coaches have done a great job with the program. They do everything. They’re great. They do everything for us. They give us the confidence.”
The confidence has been seen on the floor all season. Miami Christian placed a challenging schedule, including five games against teams that advanced to the state semifinals.
And it was there again on Wednesday. The Victors used their speed to compensate for their height deficit against a lengthy St. John Neumann team.
Sophomore Samantha Vales led Miami Christian with 16 points. Senior Victoria Aranguren added 13 points, while sophomore Ziul Gonzalez had 12 and Enjulina Gonzalez chipped in 11 for the Victors, who shot 42.9 percent from the field and scored 31 points off 29 St. John Neumann turnovers.
Miami Christian led wire to wire, but St. John Neumann (23-6) took advantage of a stretch in the middle of the second half to avoid the game turning into a complete blowout.
Miami Christian led by as many as 25 points before St. John Neumann outscored the Victors 13-6 run to close out the third quarter and cut Miami Christian’s lead to 18 points, 49-31, at the end of the third quarter and down to within 13 points, 54-41, with 4:35 left in regulation.
That bulk of the St. John Neumann run came with Enjulina Gonzalez on the bench for Miami Christian after she picked up her fourth foul with 5:11 remaining in the third quarter.
Gonzalez checked back in with 5:18 left in regulation, and Miami Christian closed the game on a 16-8 run.
“She holds the team together,” Davila said. “She’s an energy. She’s a big fighter, especially in the paint, but as she said coming up the stairs [after the game], her teammates have her back.”
Gonzalez added: “I trusted my teammates throughout the whole process. I knew that we came in here and we were confident the whole time.”
The Victors opened with an early 16-6 lead after one quarter, with Gonzalez scoring seven consecutive points in the final 1:24 of the frame.
Miami Christian extended its lead to 35-16 at halftime behind 11 points apiece from Valez and Aranguren and then got its lead up to 25 points less than four minutes into the third quarter before St. John Neumann began its comeback attempt.
St. John Neumann sophomore Sophia McCartney led all scorers with 22 points while also corralling 20 rebounds.
But Miami Christian’s well-rounded roster helped it overcome a single dominating performance from its opposition.
And now, one more win separates the Victors from another title.
“We know what it’s like to come here, and we know that it’s very hard to win twice,” Davila said. “We know that we have to come out here stronger than ever.”
This story was originally published February 23, 2022 at 3:18 PM.
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