GAINESVILLE (February 26) — The eight individual class finalists for the 2016 Florida Dairy Farmers Miss Basketball and Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year have been announced following balloting by a statewide panel of high school girls’ basketball coaches and prep media members.
Every finalist was the leading vote-getter in their classification, making each one the Player of the Year or Coach of the Year in their class. The two winners will be announced following a final round of balloting by coaches and media.
Following are the eight finalists for the Miss Basketball Award (Area winners in bold)
Megan Gorman, Senior, Forward, Vero Beach, Class 8A Player of the Year
The Yale University signee led the Fighting Indians to their first state title by averaging 19.2 points, 14.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
Kanesha Battle, Senior, Guard, Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach), Class 7A Player of the Year
Battle, a Bethune Cookman College signee, led her team to the regional semifinals by averaging 24.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game.
Nadia Fingall, Senior, Forward/Center, Choctawhatchee (Fort Walton Beach), Class 6A Player of the Year
The Stanford University signee and McDonald’s All-American led her team to the Final Four by averaging 18.0 points and 11.2 rebounds per game.
Rennia Davis, Junior, Guard/Forward, Ribault (Jacksonville), Class 5A Player of the Year
Davis led Ribault to the state championship, averaging 20.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while shooting 37 percent from 3-point range.
Jordan Lewis, Senior, Guard, Lake Highland Prep (Orlando), Class 4A Player of the Year
The University of Alabama signee led her squad to its second straight state title, averaging 17.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game.
Ja’Tavia Tapley, Senior, F/C, University Christian (Jacksonville), Class 3A Player of the Year
Tapley, a University of Southern California signee, led her team to the state championship game by averaging 20.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.
Jazmine Jones, Senior, Guard, FAMU (Tallahassee), Class 2A Player of the Year
The University of Louisville signee led the Rattlers to their second straight state championship, averaging 21.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
Jameica Cobb, Senior, Guard, Madison County, Class 1A Player of the Year
The Alabama A&M signee led Madison County to its first state title, averaging 24.3 points, 6.8 rebounds,1.7 assists and 5.0 steals per game.
Following are the eight finalists for the Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year:
Rahshard Morgan, Vero Beach, Class 8A Coach of the Year
In his 11th year at the helm, Morgan led his squad to a 26-1 record and the school’s first state championship. His overall record is 182-112.
Johnnie Lawson, Winter Haven, Class 7A Coach of the Year
Lawson led his team to a 26-3 record and the state championship. In his eight years at Winter Haven he has compiled a 184-50 record with six Final Four appearances.
Chad Terrell, Ft. Myers, Class 6A Coach of the Year
In his first year as the varsity girls head coach after eight years as the boys’ freshman coach, Terrell led the Green Wave to a 27-5 record and the school’s first girls’ state basketball championship.
Sheila Seymore-Pennick, Ribault (Jacksonville), Class 5A Coach of the Year
Seymore-Pennick led the Trojans to a 28-1 record and their third state championship in the past four years. In 12 years, she has compiled a 291-60 record with three state titles and seven Final Four appearances.
Al Honor, Lake Highland Prep (Orlando), Class 4A Coach of the Year
Honor led his team to a 29-3 record and its second straight state championship. In his five years at the school, Honor has posted an overall record of 121-26.
Ochiel Swaby, Miami Country Day, Class 3A Coach of the Year
In his 12th year at the helm, Swaby guided the Spartans to a 26-6 record and their third straight state championship. His overall record is 253-83 with three state titles and a fourth trip to the Final Four.
Ericka Cromartie, FAMU (Tallahassee), Class 2A Coach of the Year
Cromartie led the Rattlers to a 30-2 record and their second straight state championship. In her two years at the school, she has posted a 51-4 record and back-to-back state titles.
Marcus Hawkins, Madison County, Class 1A Coach of the Year
In his ninth year at Madison County, Hawkins compiled a 28-5 record and won his first state title. He has an overall record of 116-125, but has gone 72-20 the past three years.
Final voting numbers by class (top three):
Class 8A
Player, School – Points
Megan Gorman, Vero Beach – 143
Mikiah Harrigan, Flanagan (Pembroke Pines) – 98
Ciara Thompson, West Orange (Winter Garden) – 48
Coach, School – Points
Rahshard Morgan, Vero Beach – 145
Nhu Nguyen, Boca Raton – 75
Shenique Gilbert, Seminole (Sanford) – 48
Class 7A
Player, School – Points
Kanesha Battle, Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach) – 148
Yasmeen Chang, Riverdale (Fort Myers) – 41
Shantel Walker, South Broward (Hollywood) – 32
Coach, School – Points
Johnnie Lawson, Winter Haven – 126
Tina Hadley, Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton) – 63
John Gant, Wiregrass Ranch (Wesley Chapel) – 45
Class 6A
Player, School – Points
Nadia Fingall, Choctawhatchee (Ft. Walton Beach) – 101
Jacaira Allen, Dillard (Ft. Lauderdale) – 67
Erin Wilson, Auburndale – 48
Coach, School – Points
Chad Terrell, Ft. Myers – 150
Zach Gillon, Northeast (Oakland Park) – 78
Don Brown, Choctawhatchee (Ft. Walton Beach) – 51
Class 5A
Player, School – Points
Rennia Davis, Ribault (Jacksonville) – 113
Ja’Miah Bland, Dunbar (Ft. Myers) – 63
Delicia Washington, Baker County (Glen St. Mary) – 59
Coach, School – Points
Sheila Seymore-Pennick, Ribault (Jacksonville) – 125
Dave Boehm, Bishop Moore (Orlando) – 72
Dwayne Donnell, Dunbar (Ft. Myers) – 69
Class 4A
Player, School – Points
Jordan Lewis, Lake Highland Prep (Orlando) – 93
Komelia Wright, Jones (Orlando) – 55
Amber Bender, Calvary Christian (Ft. Lauderdale) – 38
Coach, School – Points
Al Honor, Lake Highland Prep (Orlando) – 138
Maggie Hedley, Brooks-Debartolo (Tampa) – 101
Diane Frost-Walker, East Gadsden (Havana) – 33
Class 3A
Player, School – Points
Ja’Tavia Tapley, University Christian (Jacksonville) – 111
Chelsie Hall, Seffner Christian – 68
Kelsea Marshall, Miami Country Day – 45
Coach, School – Points
Ochiel Swaby, Miami Country Day – 131
Joe Cooper, Seffner Christian – 67
Keith Stroud, University Christian (Jacksonville) – 63
Class 2A
Player, School – Points
Jazmine Jones, FAMU (Tallahassee) – 143
Kristin Rampersad, Grandview Prep (Boca Raton) – 75
Andra Leopold, Academy at the Lakes (Land O’Lakes) – 61
Coach, School – Points
Ericka Cromartie, FAMU (Tallahassee) – 138
Karim Nohra, Academy at the Lakes (Land O’Lakes) – 92
EJ Murray, Covenant Christian (Palm Bay) – 60
Class 1A
Player, School – Points
Jameica Cobb, Madison County – 155
Enmarrie Carmen, Trenton – 72
Teiyahna Hutchinson, Port St. Joe – 63
Coach, School – Points
Marcus Hawkins, Madison County – 145
Bryant Frye, Trenton – 93
Kevin Craig, South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach) – 71
