10-04-2025
Miami High's Wilson and Doral's Vega are Dade Girls' Basketball 7A-5A Players of the Year
Doral Academy and Miami High battled until the final buzzer this season for the right to go to state.
While several players on both sides played pivotal roles to get their teams to that point, two stood out in particular - Doral Academy's Stephanie Vega and Miami High's Sydney Wilson.
In the end, it was Vega's squad, which would go one step further and advance to the Class 7A state semifinals.
'It's always competitive but on the court in a good way,' Vega said. 'We all know each other and it's fun when we're on the court together.'
Vega has been one of the integral players who has helped Doral Academy become a consistent state title contender over the past couple of seasons.
Meanwhile, few athletes have been as versatile in multiple sports in recent years as Wilson has at Miami High.
And so, Vega and Wilson share honors this season of being the Miami Herald's Class 7A-5A Girls' Basketball Co-Players of the Year.
On an already prolific scoring squad, Vega, a junior combo guard, averaged 19.9 points per game. But Vega also handled point guard duties at times and became stronger at both ends of the floor, also averaging 3.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
Unfortunately for Doral, its bid for a state title was thwarted by Orlando Dr. Phillips in the state semifinals.
As part of a core of players, several of whom have played together since the fifth grade, Vega hopes to climb that final hurdle next season as a senior and bring home the school's first state championship.
'Before last year, none of us had been to state so going back-to-back was good,' Vega said. 'We would have wanted to win it obviously, but we all learned from the experience. I feel like we need to bring more energy during the whole game and not let us get down.'
Wilson was coming off an already successful season on the volleyball court at Mater Lakes Academy when she rejoined her basketball teammates at Miami High.
The Stingarees scored a win over Doral during the regular season and won 18 games heading into the regional final due largely to Wilson's leadership on the court as she averaged over seven assists per game and nearly 12 points despite handling point guard duties.
Wilson and Miami High pushed Doral to the brink before losing 55-54 in the Region 4-7A final.
'Even though we didn't make it as far as we did in previous years, I know we put in the work and made the best out of it,' Wilson said. 'Not everything is always going to go your way, but it was still a good game. We didn't lose on a bad game. We had a chance to win it and we did everything we could possibly do.'
