WEST PALM BEACH – They earned it.
No one can deny the King’s Academy girls basketball team’s prowess after they overcame a double-digit deficit en route to a 64-51 win last night (Feb. 18) over Holy Trinity Episcopal.
In the Class 3A-Region 3 final, the Lady Lions (24-5) broke through in the third quarter and ended that frame with a 45-44 lead. They never looked back from there.
Freshman Jade Jones (20 points) took the game over during her team’s third-quarter rally, as she was sure to will her way to the basket on more than one occasion. Her grit and tenacity galvanized the Lady Lions in the process.
To make this clear, it was a total team effort in the Lady Lions comeback trail.
“We went down 10 in the first half,” King’s Academy head coach Chris Race said. “They just stuck with the game plan and kept fighting…They had to lock in.”
Lady Lions senior power forward Mo’Nique Joseph led all scores with 24 points in the landmark win.
“Big Mo came in with me when I was hired,” Race said. “Mo was here as a sophomore. We put a lot of pressure on her. She gets the tough assignments every night. She can’t take any plays off.”
Joseph dominated the second half in her own way, so much so that it ignited a level of passion that everyone at the game could witness.
“What I wanted to focus on was consistency,” Joseph said. “I know our girls had to go out there and fight for every possession on the court. I know that we just had to put everything on the line like it was our very, very last game.”
Joseph spoke on how she powered her way past the opposition in this one.
“Coach told me to stay in shape no matter what,” Joseph said. “He told me, ‘You’re the best player on the court no matter who it is. It could be a 6-5, 6-6, or 5-10 person. Whoever is on the court, you’re the best person on it…Just know that no matter what, you have your teammates.’”
Now that King’s Academy has reached its goal of reaching the Class 3A State Final Four Series, the ultimate goal is winning it all next week for the state title.
“We’re gonna give it everything we got,” Race said. “I appreciate a lot of the coaches we have here in Palm Beach County. Different coaches came here to support us. We all support each other all year, for the most part. And that’s what you do. We root for all their kids, and they root for ours. It’s a pretty tight knit community with all the coaches. I’m so excited. I can’t even talk right now.”
NOTES: In the State Final Four Series, the winners of all four regions from each classification are re-seeded by the FHSAA.
King’s Academy is the No. 4 overall seed and will face off against No. 1 overall seed Cardinal Mooney (18-6) on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m.
All State Final Four Series matchups will take place at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
OTHER REGIONAL FINAL RESULTS: 561 TEAMS
CLASS 7A-REGION 3: No. 1 seed Vero Beach 70, No. 2 seed Spanish River 61
Spanish River ends its historic season with a 20-4 record.
CLASS 6A-REGION 4: No. 1 seed St. Thomas Aquinas 79, No. 2 seed Seminole Ridge 25
Seminole Ridge ends its amazing season with a 16-2 record.
CLASS 2A-REGION 4: No. 1 seed Miami Christian 67, No. 2 seed Berean Christian 29
Berean Christian ends its awesome season with a 22-5 record.
PHOTO CREDITS: PBC Hoops Girls and Keith Forde
