The Cardinal Mooney girls basketball team ahead of their state championship game on March 1. Provided photo.

The Cardinal Mooney girls basketball team has finally made it over the hump. After finishing as the runner-up in the Florida State High School Athletic Association Class 3A state tournament for the fourth year in a row in 2024, the Cougars were crowned state champions when they defeated Jacksonville’s Bolles High 64-54 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland March 1.

The Cougars are a team defined by their tenacity. Their practices are hard—from the multitude of offensive playcalls and defensive sets players are required to memorize to the intense conditioning—and their schedule, ranked fourth hardest in the state by Max Preps, was even tougher. It was a schedule designed to harden Cardinal Mooney in anticipation of its playoff run.

“I have girls that want to play basketball at the next level and to do that, you’re going to have to play young ladies that are just as gifted and talented as you are. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the easy route,” says Head Coach Marlon Williams. “We took some bumps on the head and some bruises, but it comes down to how do you prepare your team to play against the best teams in Florida? When you get to the final four, everybody’s good. You have to be able to say that we’ve played this kind of girl, we understand this type of team.”

Williams’ team was not in need of a rah-rah speech over the course of the season or during the tournament. Led by star senior Kali Barrett, a University of Cincinnati commit, the Cougars were determined from the start of the season to not let another state championship slip away. In the championship game, the 6-foot-2 Barrett, who averaged 16 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists this season, scored 20 points with 11 rebounds. Sophomore Madi Mignery, another Division 1 prospect, added 19 points with 11 rebounds. Senior Sy’monique Simon, who will play for Harvard next year, scored 11 points before exiting with an elbow injury in the third quarter.

“It’s a joy, it’s a relief and it’s a moment of being so proud of this team,” says Williams of winning the state championship. “They were very determined after last year to get back to this stage and they showed it through their work ethic all season long. It could not be a better group of young ladies.”

The Cardinal Mooney girls basketball team ahead of their state championship game on March 1. Provided photo.