Three West, Southwest Orange County high school basketball teams compete for 7A state titles

In the final week of the Florida high school basketball season, three teams from the West Orange and Southwest Orange area advanced to the FHSAA Class 7A Final Four March 7-8 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, the Dr. Phillips High and Ocoee High girls teams, and the Windermere High boys. 

Each of the three squads entered the two-day, single-elimination Final Four with a chance to either make or build on the history already made this season while competing for a state championship. 

DAY ONE

Dr. Phillips vs. Doral Academy

Of the three area teams that competed in the 7A Final Four, the Dr. Phillips Lady Panthers by far knew their way around the bowels of the RP Funding Center the best. This was the fourth consecutive year DP reached the state semifinals; the Panthers won the three previous state championships. 

Despite the familiarity, the Panthers’ goal of winning a fourth-consecutive state title was anything but ordinary; coach Anthony Jones called the feat nearly impossible.

“In the highest classification in the state, it’s almost impossible to four-peat, because it’s all the largest schools in the state, so the talent is pretty balanced, and it’s very competitive,” he said. “That’s why it’s never been done before.”

Dr. Phillips opened the slate of 7A semifinal games against South Florida school Doral Academy. After a tight first quarter — which saw the Panthers trail by three points — DP put its foot on the gas in the second, outscoring Doral 26-10 in the quarter and taking a 38-25 lead into half. The veteran-heavy Panthers led the rest of the game, topping the Firebirds 72-54 and taking one more step toward a state title.

Transfer guard Ciara Hayes led the way for the Panthers, scoring 24 points, while backcourt mate Kendall Perry filled up the stat sheet with nine points, nine rebounds, three steals, three assists and three steals.

“It feels good reaching this point only coming in halfway through the season,” Hayes said. “The points didn’t come from just me; everybody contributes to it. If we didn’t rebound and pass the ball, then the points wouldn’t have come. We played together as a team, moved the ball well, and we came out with the win.”

Dr. Phillips then was scheduled to face the winner of the other girls 7A semifinal matchup: Ocoee vs. Winter Haven.

Ocoee vs. Winter Haven

Following the completion of the first boys 7A semifinal matchup of the day — during which Columbus High topped Seminole High, 78-48 — the Ocoee Lady Knights were ready to fight for their place in the state title game against the overall No. 1 seed, the Winter Haven Blue Devils. 

Before even stepping on the court in Lakeland, Ocoee had already made history by winning its first regional championship and achieving the goal the team had set before the season began.

“These girls have bought in since the first day,” coach Marcus Spencer said. “At the start of the season, when we talked about our goals, making it to Lakeland was at the top of that list, and that’s what we did. I gave them a vision; we even got shirts that say ‘Lakeland’ on it, and for the first time in school history, we’re here.”

Getting to Lakeland might have been the goal going into the season, but after the Lady Knights made it there, chasing a state title was all the focus.

After a slow start to its semifinal matchup, trailing Winter Haven by seven points going into the half, 27-20, Ocoee went on a run in the early portion of the third quarter — cutting the lead to as little as three points. However, the Blue Devils lived up to their No. 1 seed and managed to wrangle back the momentum in the third and never look back, ultimately winning 65-41. 

“Winter Haven is an awesome team that’s been here before,” Spencer said. “In the third quarter, we were able to cut the deficit down from seven at half to three, but then they forced a couple of turnovers, hit a couple of big shots, got the momentum and went on a little run. When you get into a double-digit deficit against a team like that, it’s hard to come back. Hats off to them for playing hard but we’re just incredibly proud of our girls because they showed up today and fought.”

Despite the loss, Spencer and his coaching staff — who played an integral role in this season’s success, stepping in for Spencer on multiple occasions due to medical issues — are confident they’ll be back next season. 

“I want to give a tip of my cap to my assistant coaches because without them holding the ship together, we wouldn’t be in this position,” he said. “With this staff and everything the girls have done, it’s easy to say we’ll be back next year, but with a different result.”

Ocoee finished the season with a 25-4 record. 

Windermere vs. Sarasota 

To finish the area hoops triple-header was the Windermere Wolverines facing off against the Sarasota Sailors for a chance to battle Columbus High in the boys 7A state finals. This was the second appearance in the Final Four for Windermere and, with a win, it would be the first title-game appearance in the young program’s history. 

Windermere came out firing in the game’s opening quarter, outscoring Sarasota 20-5 after hitting four three-pointers. 

The Sailors fought back in the following two quarters to make it a single-digit game. Unfortunately for Sarasota, just as the first quarter set the tone for Windermere, so did the fourth. The Wolverines again held the Sailors to single digits in the quarter, outscoring them 20-7 and stamping their ticket to the program’s first state title game with a 59-39 semifinal win. 

“We knew we had to make some shots to win this one, and we did early on,” coach Mark Griseck said. “I thought our defense throughout the game was pretty solid, so that helped us stay in it when we weren’t making shots.”

Windermere was led in the win by senior guard Korvantae Hatter, who scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Senior big man T.J. Drain added 17 points and six rebounds. 

“I really didn’t want this to be my last high school basketball game,” Hatter said. “I had to sit out my whole junior year, so I really wanted to keep playing. I want to win.”

Hatter and the Wolverines earned a chance to play for that state title. All they would have to do was beat three-time defending state champions Columbus on Day 2.

DAY TWO

Windermere vs. Columbus

In the opening game of Day 2, the Wolverines came into the 7A boys finals as the David to Columbus’ Goliath. Entering the game, the Explorers were ranked by MaxPreps as the top basketball team in the nation, thanks in large part to their two Duke commits — twin brothers Cameron and Cayden Boozer, sons of former NBA player Carlos Boozer — and four-star junior guard Jaxon Richardson — son of former NBA player Jason Richardson. 

In the first quarter of the state finals, Columbus showed why it was such a highly ranked team by holding the Wolverines to just seven points. The Explorers’ stifling defense led the way throughout and was the determining factor in this matchup.

“Their size and their length and their strength, and their coaching was the difference,” Griseck said. “They took away the stuff we were trying to do, and we tried to run some counters but couldn’t get them going. That’s a great team over there, so hats off to them. For us, the only thing I was disappointed in was I just didn’t feel like we competed very hard at times in the first half.”

Despite the 68-36 loss, this group of Windermere players left its mark on the program and always will have a special place in Griseck’s heart. 

“They put in a lot of hard work; they bought into the idea of playing for each other,” he said. “It’s a great group; I’m sad to see the seniors go. … Ultimately, I’m just proud of the character of our guys, they’ve great kids.”

Dr. Phillips vs. Winter Haven

The Lady Panthers faced Winter Haven in the state finals with a chance to win a fourth-consecutive title. 

The Panthers opened the game by taking a three-point lead. But thanks to the highest-scoring quarter by either team in the second (17), Winter Haven took control with a 26-20 lead.

In the second half, the Panthers clawed back to bring the Winter Haven lead down to one possession but never got over the hump, losing 45-42. 

“We fought very hard, and there was a lot of balls that we couldn’t get to and a lot of things didn’t go our way,” Jones said. “We fought so hard that some of the plays I thought could have gone the other way. ... Despite all of that, my girls fought, and I’m very proud of them.”