BOCA RATON – The Boca Raton Christian Lady Blazers basketball team has accomplished a great feat this season.
Led by head coach Nhu Nguyen, the Class 2A program went from a one-win team last season to one that reached the District 15-2A title game and earned a berth in this season’s Class 2A playoffs.
In doing so, Nguyen is quite grateful for the turnaround that has taken place at Boca Raton Christian.
“It’s night and day from when I took over the program,” said Nguyen, who started coaching at Boca Raton Christian in the 2020-2021 season. “We had a ton of middle schoolers and we won one game in overtime last year. District championship was nonexistent. But now we have completed turned the program around.”
Boca Raton Christian finished the regular season with a 14-9 record. This is a remarkable 13-win improvement from last season, which was a 1-14 campaign.
In addition to that, the Lady Blazers earned the No. 1 seed in the District 15-2A tournament. This was made possible by their 3-0 district record, plus opportunities to play against non-district opponents such as Olympic Heights (Class 6A) and St. Andrew’s (Class 3A).
“It’s a huge accomplishment for what these girls have done,” Nguyen said. “They stuck around and worked hard in getting to where they are right now. It’s a phenomenal journey. But we’re still getting better. We’re still building the program.”
Nguyen spoke on the atmosphere that exists at Boca Raton Christian School.
“This is a great place to be,” Nguyen said. “The environment is awesome. It’s a nurturing community and the education is unmatched. I’m happy to see where the girls are at academically.”
With that being said, Boca Raton Christian earned the right to host Donna Klein Jewish Academy in the 15-2A title game this past Thursday night (Feb. 3).
“It’s the first time in a long time – almost 12 years – that this school competed for a district title,” Nguyen said. “We’re excited about that.”
The 15-2A title game resulted in a 58-50 loss to Donna Klein Academy. But despite the outcome, Nguyen is confident and resolute about the trajectory of the Lady Blazers basketball program as a whole.
“First of all, God is good, whether you win or lose,” Nguyen said. “Second, losing sucks. I’m not going to say it’s okay to move on. That’s the fire, the belly, the competition that is in us and why we coach. We build programs to put a team out there and play basketball.”
Nguyen spoke on the district title loss to Donna Klein Jewish Academy (5-8).
“It’s hard to beat a team three times,” Nguyen said. “We beat them two times earlier in the season. This was the third time we played them. It just happened to be in the district championship. They just came down a little bit better than us. I’m disappointed but proud of our girls. I’m proud of where we are and what we will become. I’m just looking forward to getting after it in the regionals.”
Boca Raton Christian (15-10) will be on the road tonight (Feb. 10; 7 p.m. tip-off) against Miami Christian (16-8) in the 2A-Region 4 quarterfinal round. Regardless of the outcome, the Lady Blazers have a lot to be happy about.
“There’s still have a lot of basketball left for these kids,” Nguyen said. “We started four freshmen and one eighth-grader. We have one more game to mature. This is a journey. It’s not a sprint.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Keith Forde and MaxPreps
