Point guard elevates Lake Howell
Lake Howell’s girls basketball team is thriving entering the district playoffs on Monday after spending nearly a decade on the decline.
The Silver Hawks enter Class 8A, District 5 postseason play at 25-2 after winning just 11 games combined the past two seasons.
Junior point guard Re’Yanna Jones has played a major factor in the team’s success since transferring from Seminole High School, where disagreements with the coaching staff sidelined her as a sophomore.
“She’s one of those storied point guards that’s been around the game for a long time,” said Lake Howell coach Mike Sutton, in his second season. “She’s the point guard that we needed.”
Jones, who helped the Seminoles reach the 9A state final four as a freshman, has emerged into a well-rounded playmaker.
She enters districts averaging 22.6 points, 7.9 assists, 5.9 steals and 4.3 rebounds while commanding a pickand-roll offense that relies on movement away from the ball.
“The system feeds into a great point guard,” Sutton said. “With the skill-set she has, it’s been like putting dynamite next to gasoline.”
Two juniors in the post have added to the formula. Isabel Morales is averaging 10.2 rebounds and 8.9 points. Bronagh Kelly has accounted for 11.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
Of the seven area teams to reach the state final four in Lakeland a season ago, only a handful appear capable of making a return trip.
Jones (5A) and Wildwood (1A) won state titles in 2016-17 while Ormond Beach Calvary Christian finished runners-up in 2A. Wildwood and Calvary don’t figure to be challenged as the top-seeded teams in four-team districts this week.
Wildwood’s Kari Niblack has surpassed the 2,000-point mark for her career. Calvary returned four of its five starters from last year and Yasmin Perez went over 1,600 points for her career and Mariah Perez surpassed 1,000 career points.
But Jones, which has hovered around .500 much of the year, faces a stiff semifinal test against The First Academy on Wednesday in 5A-6. The Tigers lost to TFA 55-49 on Jan. 23.
Wekiva (9A), Olympia (9A), Edgewater (7A) and Geneva (2A) each lost in state semifinal games last season. Wekiva stands the best chance of that group to reach a region tournament.
Lake Mary (19-2) senior Maria Benitez and Cypress Creek sophomore Natalia Cooke have sparked their teams since relocating to Florida after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico.
“Although she's only five feet tall, she has the heart of a lion,” Lake Mary coach Rick Weyers said of Benitez.
Cooke has teamed up nicely with senior Judah Johnson in the backcourt for the best season since 2009-10 for Cypress Creek (12-12).
Timber Creek (22-3) has tied the program record for wins but likely faces a stiff challenge in its 9A-4 semifinal vs. Boone on Wednesday. Those teams split two close games. The winner is in line to meet top-seeded Colonial Friday.
West Orange is slated to face an improved Evans squad for the second time in less than three weeks in a 9A-3 semifinal Wednesday. Evans won 67-65 on Jan. 18. The winner likely faces Wekiva in Friday’s final.
Four area players rank in the state’s top 10 in 3-pointers among teams that submit stats to MaxPreps. Osceola junior Jaden Langer is No. 3 with 85 3s made, followed by Lake Nona senior Macee Sugrue (77), Lyman sophomore M’Kayla Patterson (76), and East River senior Cheyenne Patrick (74).