Lakeland Fl- The Bishop Kenny Crusaders faced state power and 3-time defending state champion Lake Highland Prep for the Class 4A state title on Saturday. The two teams have had lots of history in a short span of time down in Lakeland. Bishop Kenny moved to Class 4A in 2019-2020 and made it all the way to the state championship game where they fell to the Highlanders 61-46. They would fall to Lake Highland Prep again the next year in the State Semifinal 44-32. Yet this year seemed different. Even the game was different, as Kenny came ever close to capturing the coveted championship.
Kenny defeated Cardinal Gibbons 69-47 in the FHSAA state semifinals Thursday, to advance to the state championship game Saturday. BK had their way with the Chiefs jumping out to a 15-point lead at halftime, and eventually winning by 22-points in enroute to the Final 4 win. They did the same against Lake Highland Prep on Saturday, jumping out to an early lead and putting the Highlanders on “High Alert”.
Bishop Kenny took advantage of their height as forward Clare Coyle grabbed 5 of her game high 14 rebounds in the first quarter alone. She also posted up and scored down low for the Crusaders. Lake Highland Prep had no answer for her.
With Coyle controlling the paint, Bishop Kenny Guard Riley Talbert made them pay from the outside. She hit two 3-pointers in the first half. She hit a big one in the second half as well, yet also showed that she could drive to the basket to give her team an advantage. She ended with 13-points in the game.
Senior Sophia Rueppell leads BK in scoring with 11.8 on the season. The Highlanders knew this coming into the game and focused attention on gettign the ball out of her hands. However, Rueppell still found a way to knock down shots including a 3-pointer in the second half to keep Lake Highland Prep at bay.
If there was one player that showed up from start to finish it was guard Sydney Roundtree. Averaging 7.3 points per game this season, the junior had a coming out party scoring a team high 14-points in the game. Said Roundtree after the game, “we knew they were guard heavy, so we wanted to come out aggressive and take advantage with our height”.
Roundtree showed her well-rounded game, not just scoring early in the game with 3-points in the first quarter, but hitting a big step back 3-pointer in the 4th quarter when her team fell behind. It was her coming out party, giving everyone a sneak peak into what is to come her seinor year.
Head Coach Will Mayer had a masterful gameplan for Bishop Kenny that worked for three quarters. They moved the ball superbly, patiently waiting for the right shot and knocking them down when the opportunity presented itself. ” Their defense presented problems in the paint, as they had an height advantage as well. Yet eventually, the team would run into trouble down the stretch.
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Lake Highland Prep and coach Al Honor unleashed the press in the second half, something the 2021-2022 Florida Dairy Farmers Coach of The Year elected not to do in the first half. “This was the first year we elected to go with an all guard lineup” said Honor after the game. This seemed to be a disadvantage in the first half, yet in the second half they used it to their advantage, flustering Kenny into turnovers, and making them work just to get the ball up the front court.
Kenny uncharacteristically missed crucial shots and even free-throws down the stretch, which fueled a resurgent Highlander team. Junior guard Jada Eads attacked the basket relentlessly from the opening whistle of the second half scoring 16 of her game high 21-points in the second half.
Senior shooting guard Eleecia Carter and junior small forward Lexi Blue also turned it up in the second half both scoring 8 of their 10 points enroute to the second half comeback. In the end, the Highlanders earned their 4th straight title and 6th FHSAA championship overall defeating Bishop Kenny 55-45.
” I think what contributed to our success this year is the fact that we had alot of players step up and we don’t just lean on one player to get it done”- said head coach Will Mayer. Bishop Kenny had it’s best season in school history at 30-2, and look to return next year as Talbert, Coyle, and Rountree all return.
