High school girls basketball: No. 2 Montverde Academy, No. 3 Long Island Lutheran headline GEICO Nationals field

The field of the GEICO Nationals high school girls basketball tournament was announced Wednesday, highlighted by two teams featured prominently in the MaxPreps Top 25. The event will take place March 31-April 1 in Fort Myers, Fla.

No. 2 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) is the No. 1 seed followed by No. 2 seed Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.), which sits at No. 3 in the MaxPreps Top 25. McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.) and Westtown (West Chester, Pa.) round out the field.

Montverde is the reigning champion, winning the inaugural tournament last year, while Long Island Lutheran, McDonogh and Westtown all are making their first appearances.

GEICO Nationals girls field
1. Montverde Academy — 24-1
2. Long Island Lutheran — 19-2
3. McDonogh — 24-3
4. Westtown — 21-4



Montverde Academy's roster is full of Power 5 players, led by Mississippi State commit Mjracle Sheppard (11.2 points per game), South Carolina commit Sahnya Jah (10.1) and Illinois commit Cori Allen (8.2).

Kate Koval (15.1), Kayleigh Heckel (15.9) and freshman Savannah Swords (10.1) power Long Island Lutheran, which won the Nike TOC this season. The Crusaders are led by Naismith Coach of the Year Christina Raiti.

McDonogh features junior Kennedy Umeh and freshman Autumn Fleary, while Westtown is led by senior Grace Sundback, junior Zahra King and eighth-grader Jordyn Palmer.

GEICO Nationals schedule
Friday, March 31 - both games on ESPNU (all times ET)
McDonogh vs. No. 3 Luhi, 10:30 a.m.
Westtown vs. No. 2 Montverde Academy, 12:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 1 - ESPN2
Championship game, 10 a.m.