By Jeff Odom
and Kyle LoJacono
The Academy at the Lakes girls basketball team knew it had to play a near-faultless game to get past Tallahassee FAMU in the Class 2A state final Feb. 20.
In the end, the Wildcats (25-3) had no answers for the Baby Rattlers’ (26-4) speed and relentless press defense, falling 57-34 at the Lakeland Center. It’s the second straight year the academy has had its season ended by FAMU, losing 67-46 in last year’s state semifinals.
“They out-boarded us; they kept us off the boards, and that’s where the game was won and lost right there,” said third-year Wildcats coach Karim Nohra. “Second-chance points killed us.”
The academy trailed by just two points after the first quarter but was unable to contain LaKaris Salter (18 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks).
The Baby Rattlers closed the first half on a 13-4 run while holding the Wildcats to 4-of-20 from the field. FAMU’s defense forced 14 turnovers and blocked eight shots before halftime.
The Baby Rattlers continued pouring it on with a 15-2 spurt to start the third.
Senior forward Andrea Mauger (seven points) said FAMU’s fast break caught them off guard.
“Most of the teams we’ve played all year are walk the ball up, set up a half court offense type teams, and we’ve always been the up and down team,” Mauger said. “Playing a team like FAMU, we were kind of going against our own game plan.”
Academy senior center Tatiana Manuel had a team-high 11 points and added five rebounds.
Wildcats senior point guard Timecia Cohen (10 points) said playing for a state championship was as sweet as it gets.
“I expected myself to be sad and crying, but I’m happy,” Cohen said. “I got to the end. I got to where teams wanted to be. I told my team that no one put their head down. We got the furthest we can come, and we played. It’s not like we gave up. We played.”
The academy advanced to the title game with a 65-24 dismantling of Hollywood Sheridan Hills Christian in the semifinals Feb. 19.
Mauger (20 points, six rebounds, five steals, five assists) said it was “unreal” winning the state semifinals after having their season end in the same round a year ago.
“Compared to last year we came in here crying,” Mauger said. “It’s such a blessing to be in here. … I’m so proud of my teammates and all that we’ve accomplished.”
Nohra said he and his squad came in with a different mentality this season.
“It was second nature now,” Nohra said. “Last year, I think my girls were going, ‘Wow, this is awesome,’ and forgot that we had to play a game. I was even a little giddy last year. I’ve been toiling to get to this point for 20 years, and all of a sudden I’m here, and it was kind of nice. So, I was kind of admiring the atmosphere too. I think this year for me it was all business.”
The academy led 33-7 after the first quarter and forced a running clock for the entire second half.
“I didn’t think we’d blow them out early,” Nohra said. “I thought as we kept running and pressing that we’d wear them down.”
Nohra said the goal was to tire Catlin McCluskey (14 points) by having senior forward Alex Gittens (six rebounds) “chase her all over” the arena.
“She’ll run forever,” Nohra said of Gittens, who also runs cross country. “Her motor doesn’t stop.”
Nohra said their press defense and running offense matched up well with the Sharks, who shot 17 percent from the floor.
The academy shot 59 percent in the opening quarter after going 1-of-10 in the opening period of the semifinals last year. Nohra had his squad practice at the USF Sun Dome to get used to the difference in depth perception of a larger arena.
“In most standard high school gyms there’s the backboard and then the wall right behind you,” Nohra said. “The depth perception in an arena like this would be tough for any good shooter. Going to the Sun Dome was a wise move on our part to get in and get some shots in a vast arena.”
Mauger opened the contest by hitting a 3-pointer to get the Wildcats rolling. Manuel (four blocks) dominated the paint to post 17 of her team-high 27 in the first quarter. Cohen added eight points, seven assists and six rebounds.
The academy’s run to the state finals comes four seasons removed from a 0-15 campaign. Nohra, who took over the program the following year, used that context to sum up the program’s first state finals appearance.
“To me, it’s more important to take a team that was a doormat, to take a team that everyone stepped on and was senior nights for every team, and take them, and they become the team that whips people’s butts,” Nohra said. He added, “I did it at (Tampa Catholic), I did it at Cambridge and I did it here. That to me is more precious than this medal will ever be.”
