We Speak High School Basketball
Winter Haven Came Up Five Points Short. Now Hall and Mercredi Lead the Chase Back
Five points. Winter Haven’s season, and its shot at back-to-back state titles, came down to five points — 48-43 to Doral Academy in the Class 7A final last March. What the Blue Devils did just to get there might be the harder part to believe.
Winter Haven finished 20-7 and reached the championship game chasing the program’s seventh state title without its star: Serenity Hardy, who averaged 23.9 points per game, tore her Achilles late in the regular season. Hardy has moved on to USF, and senior guard Quin’Nya Gray de Sanders — 24 points and 8 rebounds in the final — is now at Arizona State.
So why does Winter Haven still believe? Because the frontcourt that held the final together is back. Center Victoria Hall posted 8 points, 12 rebounds and 6 blocks in the title game, and Alyse Mercredi added 8 points and 8 rebounds. Both were juniors then; both are seniors now, under head coach Johnnie Lawson.
Programs that win six titles don’t rebuild on hope — they rebuild on players who have already stood in a championship huddle. Hall and Mercredi have. The chase back to Jacksonville starts with them.
We Speak High School Basketball
Remember These Names: E’zariyah Clark and Amira White Headline Florida’s 2030 Class in Tampa
They haven’t played a minute of high school basketball yet. In Tampa, people are already learning their names.
E’zariyah Clark arrives at Tampa Bay Tech as a 5-11 forward and combo guard in the class of 2030, playing club ball for HER Elite. Prep Girls Hoops’ evaluation reads like a varsity scouting report: a midrange game, range out to the deep ball, and rim protection built on length and timing — a freshman who “should be a key contributor for TBT alongside a talented group of guards.”
Across town, Amira White gives Plant a 6-0 power forward from the same 2030 class, playing for MBJ Elite. Prep Girls Hoops calls her “a major addition for Plant as the program looks to reestablish itself among the top teams in Tampa and across the state,” pointing to a back-to-the-basket game with an outside shot to match.
Florida’s 2030 class, as Prep Girls Hoops frames it, is a group whose size and length make them names to watch from day one. Two of the biggest are starting their careers in Tampa gyms this winter. Remember where you heard them first.
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