GAINESVILLE (March 13) — The nine individual class finalists for the 2018 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.
The nine finalists for the 2018 Miss Basketball Award. Area winners in bold.
Fujika Nimmo, Junior, Guard, Haines City, Class 9A Player of the Year
Led team to a 19-7 record and a district title, averaging 27.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.8 steals per game.
Erin Turral, Freshman, Guard, Lincoln, Class 8A Player of the Year
Led her team to a 22-2 record and a spot in the Final Four by averaging 28.9 points, 5.0 steals, 2.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
Destanni Henderson, Senior, Guard, Ft. Myers, Class 7A Player of the Year
The McDonald’s All-American led her team to its third straight state title by averaging 15.5 points, 6.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game. She has signed to play college basketball at the University of South Carolina.
Kaliah Henderson, Junior, Guard, Robinson, Class 6A Player of the Year
Led her team to a 22-3 record and the regional finals by averaging 27.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.1 steals per game. Has committed to play college basketball at St. Joseph’s University.
Sydney James, Sophomore, Forward, Ocala Trinty Catholic, Class 5A Player of the Year
Averaged 20.3 points 12.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 4.8 steals for her district championship squad.
Koi Love, Junior, Forward, Miami Country Day, Class 4A Player of the Year
Helped her team to its fifth straight state title by averaging 18.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 2.9 steals per game. Scored 25 points and had 13 rebounds in the state championship game.
Tyesha Battle, Senior, Guard, Somerset Prep, Class 3A Player of the Year
Led her school to the state title by averaging 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 7.4 steals per game.
Debra Buggs, Junior, Guard, City of Life Christian, Class 2A Player of the Year
Led her team to the Class 2A state title by averaging 15.0 points, 3.4 steals and 2.7 assists per game.
Kari Niblack, Senior, Forward, Wildwood, Class 1A Player of the Year
Led her team to its second straight state title, averaging 18.8 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game. She has signed to play college basketball at West Virginia University.
The nine finalists for the 2018 Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year:
Kelvin Hamm, Port Orange Spruce Creek, Class 9A Coach of the Year
In his seventh year at the helm, Hamm led his squad to a 27-5 record and the Class 9A state championship. His overall record is 100-44.
Johnnie Lawson, Winter Haven, Class 8A Coach of the Year
Lawson led his team to a 32-1 record and its third straight state championship. In his 10 years at Winter Haven he has compiled a 236-55 record with eight Final Four appearances.
Chad Terrell, Ft. Myers, Class 7A Coach of the Year
In his third year as the varsity girls’ head coach, Terrell led the Green Wave to a 14-15 record and the school’s third straight state championship. His three-year record is 66-24.
Greg Farias, Plantation American Heritage, Class 6A Coach of the Year
Farias led his squad to a 23-7 record and the Class 6A state championship. In three years he has posted a 70-16 record with another Final Four appearance in 2017.
Tracey Wolfe, Oxbridge Academy, Class 5A Coach of the Year
In her third year as head coach, Wolfe led her squad to a 27-5 record and the Class 5A state title. She has a career record of 65-22 and also appeared in the 2017 Final Four.
Ochiel Swaby, Miami Country Day, Class 4A Coach of the Year
In his 14th year at MCDS, Swaby guided the Spartans to a 19-10 record and their record-tying fifth straight state championship (Ribault, 1999-2003). His overall record is 307-91.
Henry McNabb, Somerset Prep, Class 3A Coach of the Year
In his first year at the school, McNabb led his team to a 24-4 record and the Class 3A state championship.
Ray Buggs, City of Life Christian, Class 2A Coach of the Year
In his third year at the school, Buggs led his squad to a 21-5 record and its first state title. His overall record is 60-14.
Richard Hampton, Wildwood, Class 1A Coach of the Year
In his 14th year at Wildwood, Hampton compiled a 25-6 record and won his second straight state title. He has an overall record of 258-121, with two state runnerup finishes (1994 and 2015).
Final voting numbers by class (top three):
Class 9A
Player School Points
Fujika Nimmo Haines City 84
Jayla Adams Port Orange Spruce Creek 76
Colleen Bucknor Miami Senior 64
Coach School Points
Kelvin Hamm Port Orange Spruce Creek 137
Sam Baumgarten Miami Senior 66
Tami Vaughn Deerfield Beach 34
Class 8A
Player School Points
Erin Turral Lincoln 98
Diamond Battles Winter Haven 67
Summer Quigley East Lake 46
Coach School Points
Johnnie Lawson Winter Haven 134
Jason Hively Nova 69
Rod Mack Lincoln 44
Class 7A
Player School Points
Destanni Henderson Ft. Myers 101
Nasia Powell Ocala Vanguard 64
Nydia Lampkin Heritage 58
Coach School Points
Chad Terrell Ft. Myers 95
Don Brown Choctawhatchee 61
Marcia Pinder Dillard 51
Class 6A
Player School Points
Kaliah Henderson Robinson 74
Kayla Langley Brooksville Nature Coast Tech 47
Paris Williams Lakewood 37
Coach School Points
Greg Farias American Heritage 114
Tim Piggott Ponte Vedra 51
Necole Tunsil Lakewood 47
Class 5A
Player School Points
Sydney James Ocala Trinity Catholic 76
Alexa Zaph Oxbridge Academy 47
Alana Pinder Gulliver Prep 46
Coach School Points
Tracy Wolfe Oxbridge Academy 122
Al Honor Lake Highland Prep 84
Jacob Nantz Fernandina Beach 49
Class 4A
Player School Points
Koi Love Miami Country Day 86
Ayanna Rollins Gainesville Oak Hall 79
Brylee Bartram Seffner Christian 42
Coach School Points
Ochiel Swaby Miami Country Day 114
Karim Nohra Carrollwood Day 106
Willie Powers Gainesville P.K. Yonge 55
Class 3A
Player School Points
Tyesha Battle Somerset Prep 72
Caylan Jones North Florida Christian 58
Rebecca Berquist Southwest Fla. Christian 54
Coach School Points
Henry McNabb Somerset Prep 149
Chris Cenicola Orlando Christian Prep 102
Mike Verrill St. Stephens 30
Class 2A
Player School Points
Debra Buggs City of Life Christian 67
Alexandrya Myers Bayshore Christian 57
Maria Catalina Miami Christian 48
Coach School Points
Ray Buggs City of Life Christian 142
Rick Perez Calvary Christian 64
Daryl Adams Monticello Aucilla Christian 44
Class 1A
Player School Points
Kari Niblack Wildwood 137
Teyahna Hutchinson Port St. Joe 69
Niyah Jackson Williston 53
Coach School Points
Richard Hampton Wildwood 144
Kenneth Parker Port St. Joe 100
Andrew Norris Paxton 30
