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Mickey Carney, Holy Names
Carney had a big week, and so did her basketball team. In the final week of the regular season, the Jaguars played at Countryside. The Cougars had only one loss, but behind Carney's 13 points and five rebounds, AHN won in overtime. That was followed by 17 points in a win over Mitchell and 11 in a win over Bradenton Christian. She is averaging a team-high 14.9 points and 7.9 rebounds.
"I'm a forward, but really I'm all over the place," Carney said. "…I want to give everything I have, even if I'm hurt or whatever. I think I owe that to my teammates."
The Jaguars are 17-8 and the No.?3 seed in the Class 5A, District 9 tournament. Brooks DeBartolo and Tampa Catholic are both higher seeds. AHN opens the district tournament Tuesday against Sarasota Cardinal Mooney.
The schedule has been difficult. And it has taken a while for the Jaguars to find their chemistry.
"It has taken a little bit of time for us to figure out what our game is," she said. "We've needed some games to know what it's like to play with each other. I think we're playing really well right now."
Carney would like to continue playing in college, although she has not committed to a school. She would like to go into pre-med.
She would like nothing more than to help her team get into the region tournament in her last season. "It seems like just the other day I was a sophomore and then all of the sudden it's senior night," Carney said. "It's really kind of weird."
Ronald Boyd, Plant
At the start of the season, Boyd had modest goals. He wanted to win 16 games and make the playoffs, something the senior guard had not done in three basketball seasons at Plant.
In fact, the Panthers had won just 13 games combined in his previous two seasons. One goal has been reached. Plant is 20-3. Better still, the Panthers can add to that total with two more games left in the regular season.
The other goal is well within reach. Plant has wrapped up the top seed in Class 8A, District 8, considered one of the toughest in the state. If the Panthers can reach the final, they will secure the school's first playoff appearance since 2012.
Boyd has been a big factor in the turnaround. He ranks among the team's leading scorers and had perhaps his best performance of the season in helping Plant go 4-0 last week, which included wins over Plant City and Jesuit.
For the week, Boyd averaged 17.5 points, 5.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists.
"I felt like I played well," he said. "But I know I have to keep playing well. Every week is tough."
Boyd said the biggest difference from the past few seasons is the bonding that took place in the school's gymnasium this summer.
"We worked," Boyd said. "And we got better."
It showed in the Panthers' performance. They won a summer league title and the momentum carried over to the regular season.
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Explore all your optionsBoyd does not have any interest from colleges — yet. He hopes that changes with a playoff run.
"I'm just focused on winning right now," he said.
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