MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the
Winter Haven (Fla.) Blue Devils have officially been named to the 13th Annual MaxPreps Basketball Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its 12th year honoring girls basketball.
This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for 100 of the top teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the MaxPreps National Rankings. For basketball, only 20 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 40,000 competing varsity teams, this puts the Blue Devils ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!
In order to be eligible, the team not only had to be nationally ranked, but also had to win a state championship. Beating Nova 56-45 on Saturday, Mar. 3 in the
FHSAA Class 8A state championship contest marked the completion of an incredible 32-2 season — and earned Winter Haven an invitation to the Tour of Champions.
For a quarter, Winter Haven had to settle for a slower than normal pace, and trailed 11-9 afterwards. But in the second period, the Blue Devils outscored Nova 15-5 to take a 24-16 halftime advantage on their way to a third straight state basketball title after knocking off Nova for the second time of the season. Winter Haven is now the owner of five girls state basketball championships.
Zakiyah Franklin gave Winter Haven the lead for good when she converted a turnover into two quick points just two minutes into the second period. The Blue Devils stretched the margin to eight points at intermission, and went up 39-26 in the third period on Franklin's put back with 38-seconds left in the quarter. With her team ahead 39-28 at the end of three periods, Trinity Hardy capped a 9-0 run to start the final quarter by hitting one of two free throws to put the Blue Devils up 48-28. Nova narrowed the deficit to 11 points in the final quarter, but could get no closer.
Franklin scored a game-high 20 points for the champions and was credited with five rebounds, a couple of assists and three steals, while Diamond Battles ripped the cords for 17 points and pulled down four boards and dished out a pair of assists. Tyia Singleton was credited with six points, 11 rebounds, three assists, a blocked shot and five steals and Amaya Small tallied six points, four boards, an assist, two blocked shots and a steal in the title game of Florida's second largest classification.
Winter Haven, who is 113-13 over the past four seasons, opened postseason play with a 67-16 win over Wharton. Then, following a 62-56 triumph over Plant, the Blue Devils kicked in the door to the Final Four with a 56-51 victory over Melbourne. Johnnie Lawson's club bumped Lincoln from state championship contention with a 54-29 semifinal win to set up the championship bout with Nova.
The Blue Devils opened the season with a 57-47 win over Miami Country Day. Then, following a 67-54 triumph over Wekiva, Winter Haven came out victorious in its next 22 contests to improve to 24-0 on the year. The Blue Devils lost a 58-56 overtime decision to Montverde Academy, but did not lose again until falling to Hamilton Heights Christian Academy 62-49 in the Geico High School Nationals following the season. Winter Haven outscored its competition 60.1-42.0 per outing and held 13 opponents under 40 points. The Blue Devils, meanwhile, scored 65 points or more in eight contests, including a season-high 80 points in a win over Lakewood.
Having won its final eight contests of the FHSAA girls basketball season, Winter Haven set itself up for some rather high rankings come season's end. Not only are the Blue Devils ranked No. 1 in the
MaxPreps Florida Class 8A Rankings, Winter Haven is the second best club in all of
Florida. The Blue Devils are ranked No. 27 in
MaxPreps' National Rankings and played their way into the
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Writers' Poll at No. 12!
These incredible season achievements have earned the Winter Haven Blue Devils an invitation to the 13th Annual Tour of Champions. Please join us on the football field for a pep rally as we celebrate with the girls basketball team, coaching staff, students and fans on Wednesday, May 9 at 1:30 p.m.
For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the
MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.
