Doral Academy girls edge past Miami High to secure return trip to state semifinals

Miami Herald

22-02-2025

Doral Academy's path to its first state final four did not require a playoff victory over Miami High a year ago.
The Firebirds knew that was a fluke.
During the 2024-25 season, the two Miami-Dade County girls' basketball powerhouses couldn't get away from each other after being placed in the same district.
After splitting two lopsided results, the decisive game appropriately came down to a last-second shot.
And when Miami High guard Sydney Wilson's jumper from just behind the free throw line bounced high off the back rim as time expired, Doral Academy had cleared its biggest obstacle with a 55-54 win over the Stingarees in the Region 4-7A final at its home gym.
'It's an amazing feeling. These are two of the top teams in Miami and much respect to Miami High,' Doral Academy coach Allison Bustamante said. 'We went to their place and they blew us out and we won the district championship here comfortably. Hey, much respect to them but this year it's about Doral Academy.'
Doral Academy (21-7) returns to state and will face Orlando Dr. Phillips at 9 a.m. in a Class 7A state semifinal on March 7 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
It's the first time Miami High (18-11) has come up short of reaching the state final four in consecutive seasons since 2016-2017.
'From the beginning of the year we went through the highs and lows and we came out of it stronger together and this game was a microcosm of our entire season,' Bustamante said. 'We came out hot, we stumbled, but then we fought back and ended up victorious. I'm so proud of these girls.'
And it wouldn't have happened had Doral Academy not established a presence in the paint from the beginning of the contest - a factor that typically had played more in Miami High's favor thanks to their size.
Stephanie Vega led the Firebirds on the scoresheet with 16 points.
But it was junior forward DJ Myers, who tipped the scales in the battles near the rim. Myers finished with 15 points.
She also took a pass from Victoria Valle (12 points) and drew a foul with 12.9 seconds left with Miami High having just taken a one-point lead.
Myers calmly made both free throws which ended up being the difference.
'I had a feeling it would (come down to the wire),' Myers said. 'My teammates worked hard. We were scared every time we put up a shot if it was going in or not, but we had to just keep going.'
Moments earlier, Miami High had forced a pair of turnovers in succession, which led to the Stingarees erasing a 53-47 deficit with under two minutes left.
Jamir Cook, who led the Stingarees with 16 points despite picking up three fouls in the first half, scored with 1:34 to go. Wilson forced a jump ball and hit a layup to cut the deficit to two. After Doral's second turnover with 29 seconds left, Wilson fed the ball inside to Cook, who scored and made a go-ahead free throw with 24.5 seconds left.
The Firebirds chose not to call timeout and ran the play inside to Myers that resulted in the go-ahead points.
'That's clearly where they had the advantage over us, but DJ neutralized that and swung that in our favor,' Bustamante said. 'She played the best game I've ever seen her play and that's why she came to Doral, to have games like that when the lights shine brightest.'
There were nine lead changes in the first half until Doral took an eight point lead following a 10-0 surge with 2:23 left in the second quarter.
Miami High scored five consecutive points to end the half, however, and keep the game close.
A Wilson layup tied the game at 41 heading into the fourth quarter.
'I'm so proud of my kids,' Miami High coach Sam Baumgarten said. 'DJ hitting the two free throws was huge. I thought it might go to overtime. Nine times out of 10 Sydney hits that shot, but hey, hats off to them.'