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Northeast's Hanna and Heritage's Farias are Broward Girls' Basketball Coaches of the Year

Northeast's Hanna and Heritage's Farias are Broward Girls' Basketball Coaches of the Year

Miami Herald04-04-2025
Few girls' basketball teams across the country have been as consistent over the past decade as Plantation American Heritage.
The Patriots have made it to the state championship game a state-record nine consecutive seasons, winning six championships during that span.
Over at Northeast, the Hurricanes hope to build something similar and took their first step this season.
The architects of both programs are the Miami Herald's Broward County Girls' Basketball Coaches of the Year.
Northeast's Lawrence Hanna guided the Hurricanes to their most wins in school history and a trip to the Class 5A state final four. As such, Hanna is the Broward Coach of the Year for Classes 7A-5A.
American Heritage didn't come away with a seventh state title this season, but a young team overcame adversity to once again reach the season's ultimate game for the ninth consecutive year.
Patriots' coach Greg Farias takes home the honor of once again being Coach of the Year for Classes 4A-1A.
During Farias' 10 years at Heritage, the Patriots have won 10 district titles and nine regional titles.
Only a frustrating loss in the state final to Melbourne Palm Bay, during which a 14-point first-half lead slipped away, kept Heritage from having the opportunity to hang state championship banner No. 7 at their gym.
'We have to learn from our mistakes,' Farias said after the state final. 'Every year is special. Even though we're runners-up we don't take it for granted. But we're used to winning and that's the biggest disappointment.'
At Northeast, winning was not something the Hurricanes were used to doing a lot in recent years.
That changed dramatically this season after Northeast put together a 28-3 record, claiming their first BCAA Big 8 title, as well as district and regional titles, and its first state final four appearance since 2017 along the way.
The Hurricanes' season ended with their own frustrating 54-52 loss in the state semifinals against Gainesville. But Northeast hopes it laid a foundation for future sustained success.
'We started slow and on the big stage like this, you can't do that,' Hanna said after the state semifinal loss. 'We fought back but we ran out of time.'
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