Girls Basketball State Semifinals
All games at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. Admission is $15 on the day of the event. Parking is $10.
Class 4A
Lakewood (23-4) vs. Orlando Lake Highland Prep (23-5), 9 a.m. Thursday
How they got here: Lakewood d. Lemon Bay 75-51, d. Gibbs 67-39, d. Sarasota Booker 62-53. Lake Highland Prep d. The Villages Charter 77-45, d. Orlando Bishop Moore 80-44, d. Palm Bay 52-44.
Stat Leaders
| Category | Lakewood | Lake Highland Prep |
| Points per game | Alahni Lovett, 20.9 | Lexie Blue, 14.1 |
| Rebounds per game | Riana Callihan, 7.5 | Jada Eads, 6.4 |
| Assists per game | Sumayah McIntosh, 3.5 | Jada Eads, 4.1 |
| Steals per game | Sumayah McIntosh, 6.1 | Jada Eads, 3.1 |
| Blocks per game | Sumayah McIntosh, 2.1 | Saleigh Simpson, 1.1 |
Outlook
The Spartans put together a challenging schedule for moments like this. Now, Lakewood is hoping all those tough matchups pay when they face top seed Lake Highland Prep in the semifinals. Since losing by four points to Class 3A state finalist Sarasota Cardinal Mooney in January, the Spartans have won 11 straight games, including victories over Sarasota Booker, Keswick Christian, Clearwater an Academy of Holy Names — all of which made at least the region semifinals this season. The only question is how will a young Lakewood roster that has just one senior respond in a large arena, against a formidable opponent, in a game of this magnitude. Since finishing as the state runnerup in consecutive seasons (2018-19), the Highlanders have won four straight titles. Extending that to five championships would tie them with Jacksonville Ribault for the second-longest title streak in state history. Lake Highland is more than capable of pulling that off. The Highlanders are currently ranked first in the class, fourth overall in the state and 16th nationally by MaxPreps.
Player spotlight
Alahni Lovett, Jr., Lakewood
Last year, Lovett’s season lasted only 10 games after she was involved in a serious car accident. She was leading the team in scoring (19.2 points per game) at the time of the crash. She has since recovered and is once again playing a vital role on offense with a team-leading 20.9 points per game.
