Defending their title
Dillard girls’ team defends its title
Dillard Middle School girls’ squad rules in county hoops.
In the three years Dillard Middle School has been open, the girls’ basketball team has only lost once.
Eighth-grader Whitni Sapp came through with a game-high 23 points as the Panthers recently successfully defended their middle school crown with a 51-29 victory over Nova Middle School in Fort Lauderdale.
The title-clinching effort at Stranahan High School enabled the Panthers to extend their winning streak to 28 games.
The only loss in Dillard Middle School girls’ basketball came in year one to Westglades Middle School in the county semifinals. The program has won 39 of 40 games.
“This is awesome because I feel like a champion,” said the 13-year-old Sapp, one of five transfers to Dillard this season. “I came here because I wanted to be a better player and a better student. I am accomplishing both of those.”
Sapp, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, tallied 14 of her 23 points in the third quarter as Dillard outscored Nova, 17-5.
Plantation’s Chynna Mattair, a seventh-grader who was playing against her former teammates, struck for 13 points. Mattair had just four points in the first half, but erupted for eight of her nine second-half points in the fourth quarter.
“It’s really crazy,” said Mattair, 13. “I thought we would meet in the final. This is huge to beat [Nova].”
Nova’s Trinity Delancy opened the game on a positive note, scoring five consecutive points as the Titans jumped out to a 9-3 advantage before Dillard battled back to forge a 12-11 first-quarter lead. Nova (12-2) then went on a 7-2 spurt to start the second quarter and go ahead 18-14 with 2:29 remaining in the first half.
However, Dillard (14-0) closed out the half with an 8-0 run to lead 22-18 at intermission.
The Panthers’ full-court pressure began to take its toll on Nova during the third quarter as the margin built to 30-20.
Dillard opened the final period on a 10-0 run, highlighted by six points by Sapp and four by Mattair to put the game away.
Angel Howell and Kylah Smiley each had six points, while Monique Harris added five for the winning squad. Aryanna Brown provided two points.
The Panthers were pushed in the playoffs as they defeated Millennium Middle School by three and Pompano Beach by one during the tournament.
“It is very hard to repeat,” said Harris, 14, an eighth-grader who lives in West Park. “Our defense was great. We thought we could win this because we play hard.”
Fort Lauderdale’s Howell, 13, has been on the team all three
years. She said the hard work paid off.
“This [championship] was better because we didn’t rely on one person this year,” Howell said. “We relied on the whole team. It is a good end result.”
Dillard coach Brandon Adams said the team was ready for the challenge of defending its title. The team only had two returning starters: Howell and Harris.
“It’s huge to repeat,” Adams said. “This was a different team. We had a lot of new girls. ... I had to show patience. This is the youngest group we have had, so it took a lot of motivating and an understanding of what it takes to win. It is going to be tough to win it again, but that’s our goal.”
Delancy and fellow eighthgrader Jamie Levy both leave with three consecutive trips to the county final four. The Titans lost the previous two years in the semifinals.
“It is kind of bittersweet,” Delancy said. “It is sad that we lost. They were better than us, especially with their bench. It was still huge that we made it to the finals.”
Delancy led the Titans in the title contest with 12 points, while Jayden Davis contributed eight points. Other Nova scorers were Damia Woolcock (3 points), Kassandra Pierre (2 points), Joey Delancy (2 points) and Levy (2 points).
“We had a ton of talent at the beginning of the year, and we had the expectations,” said Levy, 14, of Hollywood. “It was awesome that it actually happened. It was close the first half ... [but then] they went up by 15 points.”
Nova coach Kelly Freeman said the team has been improving steadily during his four-year tenure. Ironically, he coached Dillard coach Adams in pee wee football in the 1990s.
“The girls were up to the challenge,” Freeman said. “They made that statement in the first quarter and just gave it their all. We had a great year, and I am very proud of them.”