St. Thomas earns shot at first state title

Balanced offense leads Raiders to semifinal victory

LAKELAND — The St. Thomas Aquinas girls basketball team will get a chance to do something none of its predecessors had the opportunity to achieve.

It can win the first title in the program’s history.

Although St. Thomas Aquinas has produced dozens of championship teams across many sports, the athletic juggernaut has never had a championship girls basketball team.

The Raiders have a chance to change that Saturday after beating St. Cloud 67-46 on Friday in a Class 8A state semifinal at the RP Funding Center.

“It’s been 25 years since we’ve even made it to the final four, and it’s our chance now,” senior Halie Murphy said. “And we know that we are capable of winning.

“We’ve been working so hard for this every day.”

St. Thomas will play in the title game against Tampa Bay Tech at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

“We know Tampa Bay Tech is going to give us all we can handle,” Raiders coach Oliver Berens said. “They’re a great team and very, very capable. It’s going to be a great game [Saturday].”

Friday’s game was not close for long as the Raiders opened up a double-digit lead with 13-3 run in the first quarter. Forward Angelee Rodriguez led the early push, scoring 10 first-half points.

“I’m really injured with my knees,” Rodriguez said. “But in this game, I was like, ‘Wow, they really need me, so I have to do something for them.’ … I was like, ‘I have to score today.’ ”

St. Thomas benefited from a well-balanced offense the rest of the way, and five players ended the game with double-digit point totals.

Bella LaChance led the Raiders with 19 points. Murphy scored 14, Rodriguez had 13, Abbey Hsu 11 and Samara Spencer 10.

“We said, ‘Let’s keep them to three [double-digit scorers],’ ” St. Cloud coach Chad Ansbaugh said.

Another step the Raiders took toward erasing the program’s past struggles: St. Thomas has only had one girls basketball team earn a spot in the title game — the 1994 team lost to St. Cloud in the championship.

“It’s crazy because 25 years ago we played St. Cloud, and it was a close game I’m pretty sure,” Murphy said. “But we came out with a big win [Friday].”

CHARLES TRAINOR JR./SUN SENTINEL St. Thomas Aquinas’ Abigale Hsu, left, tries to control the ball under the basket while being closely guarded during Friday’s 8A state semifinal against St. Cloud. The Raiders will play for their first state championship Saturday.