DEERFIELD BEACH Finally, South Broward has reclaimed the county championship.
A night after ending Dillard’s reign as four-time defending BCAA girls’ Big 8 basketball champion, the Bulldogs rallied to put together an impressive fourth quarter and defeat Nova 49-42 in the championship Saturday night at Deerfield Beach High.
The victory gave South Broward its fifth overall Big 8 title, tying the Bulldogs with Dillard for most championships since the tournament began in 1998.
More than that, though, was the fact this title was South Broward’s first since it defeated Miramar 49-42 in 2006.
“It felt good to get this win,” said South Broward senior forward Priscilla Fenty, who scored all nine of her points in the fourth quarter and helped key the Bulldogs’ comeback. “We needed this energy coming into districts. I wasn’t going to let this team down.”
But as sweet as South Broward’s postgame celebration was, it didn’t come easy.
The Bulldogs (21-3) trailed by as many as eight points late in the third quarter.
They pulled within 30-27 when Cedricka Sweeting converted on a steal and layup with 18.6 seconds left in the period.
Moments later, South Broward opened the fourth quarter on an 8-2 run that gave the Bulldogs a 35-33 lead.
After that, South Broward’s defense forced multiple Nova turnovers, allowing the Bulldogs to outscore the Titans 22-9 in the final quarter.
“Once we turned up the defensive pressure, it allowed our offense to play its game,” South Broward coach Sharlene Ferguson said. “[Fenty] was the one that got us going. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy playing a team like Nova.”
Kiara Shoats, who finished with a team-high 10 points for South Broward, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Bernadette Devaney finished with 12 points to lead the Titans (19-4).
Joining Shoats and Fenty on the all-tournament team were Lauren McGraw and T’Keyah Williams of Dillard, Nova’s Clarissa Coddington and Cardinal Gibbons’ Kiara Robinson.
West Broward’s Colleen Chatfield repeated as the BCAA’s three-shooting champion, converting on all 15 of her shots during the three-point shooting competition.
