Girls hoops: AATL's foundation set for future

The end wasn't exactly what Academy at the Lakes had envisioned back in November. But most also didn't see the Wildcats reaching the Class 2A state semifinals either.

A 67-46 loss to Florida A&M Research Developmental on Tuesday at the Lakeland Center was the end of high school basketball careers for five seniors at Academy at the Lakes, with Samantha Fernandez, Amelia Oliver, Alexis Holler, Abby Persky and Yvanessa Vincent all graduating.

"You can't ask for anything more from a group of girls other than work your butt off and do what I ask to get where we need to be and they did," Academy at the Lakes coach Karim Nohra said. "They made adjustments, especially Samantha and Amelia, to their game to fit the system very, very well."

In the end, the Wildcats proved that its 2011-12 girls team will be remembered most for never giving up, and that notion was evident in the final quarter of play against FAMU. The Rattlers carried a 15-4 lead after the first quarter of play, but that didn't shake the Wildcats going into halftime, down 34-21.

Academy at the Lakes, like they have so many times in the past against tough Tampa Bay area teams like Seffner Christian, Tampa Catholic and Academy of the Holy Names, made the necessary moves to put themselves back into the game.

Down 50-41 in the fourth quarter, after an Andrea Mauger pull-up jumper, a comeback seemed possible. The Rattlers, though, shut the door on any comeback, as FAMU closed the final period with a 17-5 run and closing the book on Academy of the Lakes' most successful team in school history.

"I really thought we had a shot at (FAMU) once we got it fewer than 10," Nohra added. "In single digits, I really thought we had a shot and then they answered. That's a credit to them that they answered our run with their own run. That's a sign of a good team."

The end came down to that the Rattlers were just a better team than the Wildcats overall, but it doesn't take away from the foundation that has been laid down for future Academy at the Lakes' teams to follow. From a 0-16 season in 2010 to a Class 2A state semifinal berth is only a turnaround that most could never fathom.

"Making it this far, it hurts to lose but we can't get too down on ourselves," Wildcats center Yvanessa Vincent said. "I'm keeping my head up high for my teammates. It hurts, I'm not going to lie, but I'm proud and so should my teammates. That's all that counts. We've laid down a big foundation for the program moving forward and that was our goal. I hope teams in the future will be able to look at this and take it further."

For the Wildcats, the turnaround is seemingly just the baby steps of something the program wants to build on even more. For senior players like Vincent, they know in the back of their mind that the team will grow and maybe one day reach and win a state championship.

In the end, the Wildcats ended up exactly where they wanted to be — one of the final four best teams in the state at the Lakeland Center.