Resilient SLAM Miami girls’ basketball team falls short in state semifinals
SLAM Miami Academy girls’ basketball coach Krystal Cabrera called her six seniors, “legacy builders.”
The group, which includes four starters, were the backbone of the Titans’ transformation into an annual state championship contender.
Unfortunately for the Titans, it will be up to the players who follow in their footsteps to continue the quest for the school’s elusive first state title.
While resilient throughout the contest, SLAM was unable to overcome one of the state’s best teams overall during a 65-52 loss to Sarasota Cardinal Mooney in a Class 3A state semifinal at the RP Funding Center.
The Titans (16-13) lost in that round for the second consecutive season despite a stellar performance from senior guard Jim’Miyah Branton, who finished with 24 points, eight rebounds and five steals.
“This is bigger than basketball for us,” Cabrera said. “We’re teaching our players as they become young women. We teach them that they have to keep fighting in this life. We’ve been in predicaments like this before so we weren’t afraid. We were just competing. They’re fighters and are resilient and never quit.”
It wasn’t enough to overcome the Cougars (23-9), who earned another chance to earn their own elusive state title when they play Jacksonville Bolles on Saturday in the 3A final. Mooney has been a state runner-up each of the past four seasons.
The Titans had a rough time containing 6-2 senior forward Kali Barret, a University of Cincinnati commit who finished with a game-high 28 points and 13 rebounds.
“After that second half, we knew we had to come back and kick (butt),” Branton said. “We needed to play team basketball, but we started to get tired and they took over.”
Branton scored SLAM’s first eight points in an opening surge, which gave the Titans a brief advantage. It was gone by the end of the quarter following a steal and score by Barret that put Mooney ahead for good.
SLAM didn’t give up though.
Trailing by 12 late in the first half, two more of those seniors responded. Samantha Bautista hit back-to-back three-pointers and Taeler Suber scored to cut the deficit to 29-25.
But every time the Titans narrowed the gap, the Cougars had a response.
Mooney opened the second half on an 11-0 run. The deficit swelled to 21 midway through the third quarter as frustration set in leading to SLAM’s bench being dealt a technical foul.
But again the Titans battled their way back into the game as Bautista, Branton and eighth-grader Makayla Turner, who was the only non-senior in SLAM’s starting lineup Friday, all made clutch shots to cut Mooney’s lead to 56-47.
The clincher came with 1:28 to go when Barret posted up, scored and drew a foul to extend the lead back to double-digits.
“That fight has been with us since our freshman year,” Bautista said. “It was natural for all of us. We weren’t gonna quit. This isn’t how we wanted it to end, but we’re still proud of ourselves. It feels so good as a person to have people look up to me. I work for (those younger players) to teach them and inspire them. I’m excited for them to carry on in the future.”
Cabrera and her players shared emotional hugs after the game as they walked off the court together.
It was the end of a chapter for the Titans, which saw them overcome a couple of tough seasons post-COVID following advancements to the state tournament in 2017 and 2019.
But if the talent SLAM figures to bring back next season lives up to its potential, it won’t be the end of the Titans’ pursuit of a championship.
“Our word this season was ‘legacy,’” Cabrera said. “Legacy isn’t something you leave for people like a trophy or a medal, it’s something you leave in people. They’ve done that since the eighth grade in just the values they’ve left in them in terms of commitment and competitive nature. Those values will carry over in our returners and will keep our name going for years to come.”
This story was originally published February 28, 2025 at 2:11 PM.
