SW Florida's all-time boys and girls basketball state title winners

Only a select few Southwest Florida boys and girls basketball teams have managed to claim the ultimate prize: a state championship.

Just five high schools have ever captured either a boys’ or girls’ title and only one has earned both.

All of them from the breakthrough by Barron Collier in 2006 to the epic Destanni Henderson-led Fort Myers run in the 2010s help tell Southwest Florida’s story on the hardwood.

Here’s a look at each of the 10 Southwest Florida state basketball championship teams.

2024 Evangelical Christian girls

Coming off the first Final Four berth in the program’s history, the Sentinels knew the 2023-24 season had the potential for greatness.

ECS delivered on that promise, capturing the first state championship in the program’s history and the second for Dwayne Donnell, then in his third season at the school. Donnell is the only high school basketball coach to win state titles at two different Lee County schools.

The Sentinels (26-3) closed out the season on a 13-game winning streak, capped off by a 57-46 win over Central Florida Christian Academy to claim the Class 2A crown at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.

From 2024: ECS survives late surge by Central Florida Christian for first state title

“It’s a phenomenal testament to how these kids worked all year, how they gelled all year and, man, I don’t really want this year to end because this was almost the perfect team to win a state championship,” Donnell said following the title game win.

Led by seniors Jadah Toombs and Zara Mitchell and junior Maddie O’Berski, ECS made a habit of jumping out on their opponents early.

“We really started games well with that group, and everybody knew it,” Donnell said. “They were to the wall and it was great to see. They made it hard because we could defend as well. Now you have to try and come back on us after we got the lead.”

The ECS girls basketball team won the Class 2A state title, defeating Central Florida Christian Academy 57-46 on February 29, 2024 at RP Funding Center in Lakeland.

Few teams were able to accomplish that feat. For the season, the Sentinels outscored their opponents by an average of nearly 30 points per game. That dominance continued into the state playoffs, where ECS won its first five elimination games by at least 15 points.

The Sentinels finally faced some adversity in the championship showdown with the Eagles (24-5), who chipped away at an early double-digit deficit to pull within 46-41 with less than five minutes left to play.

With sophomore Kellesia Grant out with an injury and Mitchell struggling with foul trouble, ECS settled down in the stretch run. The Sentinels drew some key fouls and put the game away at the free-throw line, securing the championship.

Maddie O'Berski of ECS takes a shot over Sophia McCartney of St. John Neumann in the Private 8 Girls Basketball Championship game on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, at Evangelical Christian School in Fort Myers.

Maddie O’Berski of ECS takes a shot over Sophia McCartney of St. John Neumann in the Private 8 Girls Basketball Championship game on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, at Evangelical Christian School in Fort Myers.

O’Berski led ECS with 15 points, while Mitchell (12 points, nine rebounds) and Toombs (11 points, 10 rebounds, five steals) also delivered.

“It was an amazing thing to be in that locker room and at practice all season and watch that thing develop into what it turned out to be,” Donnell said. “They were a great team.”

2016-2018 Fort Myers girls

In the 2010s, the Fort Myers girls basketball pulled off one of the greatest area feats across all sports – a state championship three-peat from 2016 to 2018.

Head coach Chadrick Terrell was at the helm during that run, taking over as head coach starting in the 2015-16 season after previously coaching the boys team.

The girls were coming off a Class 6A Final Four appearance the prior season.

“It was a perfect storm,” Terrell said. “Girls basketball in this area was at its height.”

Terrell recalled the Green Wave playing the IMG National team and losing 67-55 after the Ascenders pulled away late. Rematching with IMG later in the season and down a starter, Fort Myers won 54-50.

“That’s when I knew we had something special,” Terrell said.

Fort Myers did not lose any games from that point on, including the 60-45 Class 6A state final against Oakland Park Northeast for the program’s first state title. In that contest, the defense forced 20 turnovers and closed out their first championship by limiting Northeast to 3 points in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Destanni Henderson finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists while junior Bethany Brunson posted a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

When it came to backing up that championship run, Terrell said he didn’t have to worry about complacency with his players.

“I think those girls came in hungrier than ever to let people understand that that wasn’t a fluke and that they weren’t going anywhere,” he said.

The Green Wave scheduled tough that next season, and it paid off with a dominant run through the Class 7A postseason. Fort Myers defeated Fort Walton Beach 69-49 in the championship game to go back-to-back.

Henderson led the team with 18 points, while Brunson, Jarya Outten, and Tatum Hayes also scored in double figures.

Terrell said the team’s third title run was by far the toughest. Early in the season, the FHSAA ruled a Fort Myers player ineligible for a living situation that was deemed an impermissible benefit. This meant that the team had to forfeit every game she played in, which resulted in an 0-14 start to the season.

Terrell said he thought it was “all going to fall apart” that year.

“As a young coach, I didn’t know what to do to galvanize and keep that team together, but it was such a veteran group,” Terrell said.

“You didn’t know how it was going to affect those young girls, but they had the ultimate mental toughness to deal with what they had to deal with and still go out and play the schedule that they played and … win another state championship”

Fort Myers defended the Class 7A title with ease, downing Fort Walton Beach Choctawhatchee 65-41 in 2018. Chaniya Clark, Janay Outten and Hayes each scored in double digits for the Green Wave while Henderson posted 7 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists for her third consecutive title.

Henderson, who went on to win a national championship with South Carolina in 2022 and play in the WNBA, was a major catalyst in the Fort Myers three-peat. Her No. 3 jersey has since been retired at Fort Myers High School.

More: Fort Myers High retires NCAA national champ, WNBA player Destanni Henderson’s No. 3 jersey

“Above her ability on the court, she was just such a steady, calming presence,” Terrell said. “Like no matter how big the stage was, nothing ever rattled her.

“She never put herself above her teammates. She always made them feel like they were always on the same level. And I think that is the main reason why we won three state titles with her being a part of that.”

Brunson and Autumn Giles were also important players in the Green Wave’s runs.

Terrell called Brunson an X-factor.

“If she was on and playing and engaged, we were very hard to beat,” he said.

Giles, who passed away in 2023, was a “spark plug” for Fort Myers, according to Terrell.

“She was like our Dennis Rodman,” he said. “She was a great on-ball defender, rebounder, ran the floor, could put the ball on the floor, shoot it.”

Fort Myers' Jarya Outten bites into her medal after her team beat Oakland Park Northeast in the Class 6A girls state title game on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016, in Lakeland.

Fort Myers’ Jarya Outten bites into her medal after her team beat Oakland Park Northeast in the Class 6A girls state title game on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016, in Lakeland.

Those attributes characterized many of the players on those Fort Myers championship teams. The Green Wave’s guard-heavy lineups created mismatches and forced opposing teams into uncomfortable positions.

It was the recipe for one of the most potent winning formulas Southwest Florida has seen.

“We do the Xs and Os, we come up with a game plan, but those girls have to go on the floor night in and night out and execute it – and they did that at the highest level,” Terrell said. “So all the credit goes out to those former players that played for this program, and they took this program to new heights. They did things in this county and this part of Florida that is going to be hard to repeat for a very, very long time.”

2012 Dunbar High School girls

In his first decade at Dunbar, Dwayne Donnell built the Tigers into a power, reaching back-to-back state championship games in 2007 and 2008.

However, just like every other Lee County girls basketball team, Dunbar had come up short in its chase for a title.

Until the 2011-2012 season, when the Tigers (29-1) capped a historic season with a Class 4A title, becoming the first Lee girls basketball program to claim the elusive prize.

“That is something you can always hang your hat on,” Donnell said. “Even to this day, people still talk about that team and that state championship from Dunbar because it gives them a lot of pride to have been a part of that. Our fanbase, it was ridiculous, every time we played, they traveled with us and stood with those girls.”

Dunbar High School Head Coach Dwayne Donnell and his seniors from left to right: Charrie Dennard (2), Keva Pittman (4), Kadiedra Burger (5), and Catoria Sirmons (30) hold their championship trophy aloft on the medal stand after the beat Ribault High School in the FHSAA Girls Basketball 4A Championship Final game at the Lakeland Center Thursday. Dunbar won the game 50-41. February 23, 2012. The Ledger/Michael Wilson

Dunbar, which had been bounced from the playoffs in the opening round in 2011, got a massive boost with the addition of incoming freshmen Keri Jewett and Kiara Desamours, future Lee County Athletic Conference Hall of Famers.

“Those kids were special in their own ways,” Donnell said of the tandem. “Keri with being able to handle the basketball, be the floor general, and also be able to score. And Desamours, to this date, is probably in the top three of kids who can score the basketball. Getting to the basket, there was no one better than that kid.

“These two kids changed how we were able to score the basketball once they got acclimated.”

Dunbar steamrolled through the regular season, winning 20 games by double digits. The team’s only loss came in December to Gainesville in the Queen of the Palms tournament championship.

After capturing the first district title in program history, the Tigers easily won their first state playoff games before a trip to Tampa Catholic for the regional final. Dunbar trailed by double-digits in the second half before rallying for a 63-58 overtime victory to reach its third Final Four in six seasons.

Dunbar High School's Keri Jewett (3) goes up for a basket against Coral Springs Charter School during their FHSAA Girls Basketball 4-A semi final game at the Lakeland Center Wednesday. Dunbar won the game 53-51. February 22, 2012.

Dunbar High School’s Keri Jewett (3) goes up for a basket against Coral Springs Charter School during their FHSAA Girls Basketball 4-A semi final game at the Lakeland Center Wednesday. Dunbar won the game 53-51. February 22, 2012.

“We didn’t think we were going to get out of there,” Donnell said. “But then we finally got rolling in the third quarter and started coming back. That was definitely a game for the ages.”

In the state semifinals, Dunbar edged Coral Springs Charter 53-51 when Jewett knocked down a runner with 1.8 seconds remaining. The Panthers had taken a three-point lead in the final 90 seconds only to see Jewett knock down a 3-pointer to tie the game with one minute left.

“It was great to see her make that buzzer beater on that runner and how difficult that shot was,” Donnell said. “But the willingness of her to take that shot at such a young age, that was phenomenal.”

The thrilling victory set up a title game showdown against state power Jacksonville Ribault (28-2), an eight-time state champion, the most for any Florida girls basketball team. The game featured eight lead changes through the first three quarters. But Dunbar grabbed control in the fourth quarter, pulling away for a 50-41 victory.

The Tigers held Ribault to 28 percent shooting and outrebounded them 42-25 which helped offset Dunbar’s 29 turnovers. Desamours, who would be named The News-Press Player of the Year, led the Tigers with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Senior Kadiedra Burger added 13 points for Dunbar.

2010 Fort Myers High School boys

Sixteen springs after the Green Wave made history as the first Southwest Florida boys basketball team to win a state championship, they still stand alone.

“I definitely didn’t think we’d still be the only one,” said Evin Graham, then a junior point guard for Fort Myers, now the high school dean of students at Southwest Florida Christian Academy. “Winning a state championship, it’s very, very hard. So it’s definitely cool to be able to have that conversation with people.”

Since the state crowned its first boys basketball state champion in 1922, only six teams from Lee and Collier counties have ever played for a title: Naples (1991), Lely (1994), Mariner (1996, 2017), Fort Myers (2010), and Canterbury (2018).

Only the Green Wave managed to raise the trophy.

Fort Myers (28-5) dominated their Southwest Florida opponents, winning all 19 matchups against area squads in the regular season and postseason. However, it was at the City of Palms Classic that Graham said the team got a glimpse of how good they could truly be.

Following an opening round blowout loss to national power and defending tournament champion Patterson (N.J.) Catholic, the Green Wave won their next two main bracket matchups. That included a 54-51 win over Sagemont Prep, which saw them limit 7-foot Fab Melo, a future Syracuse star, to just eight points.

“The level of those teams that we played, that really helped us,” said Graham, whose Fort Myers teams went 2-8 in three City of Palms appearances. “After that, when we played a regular high school, it felt tremendously different. That’s when we knew we were going to be fine.”

The Green Wave entered the state playoffs as the No. 1-ranked team in Class 4A and were nearly upset in the opening round. Fort Myers shot just 8-for-36 in the first half and trailed Golden Gate by seven points in the third quarter. But junior sharpshooter Matt Yance helped key a 13-0 run that helped the Green Wave escape with a 63-59 victory.

“I remember going into the playoffs, we had so much pressure because that was the first time when I was there that we had been ranked No. 1,” Graham said. “That first game, we were a little bit nervous, but after that we handled business.”

Fort Myers easily won their next three playoff games, including a 38-point blowout of Panama City Rutherford in the state semifinals. Then came the championship matchup with Orlando Oak Ridge, which was led by 6-foot-9 Georgia commit Cady Lalanne.

The Green Wave appeared to have the game well in hand, carrying a 14-point lead into the final quarter after Graham buried a 3-pointer to close out the third.

But the Pioneers (24-9) chipped away at the lead, thanks to six fourth-quarter turnovers and eight missed free throws by Fort Myers in the final eight minutes. With senior forward Collin Henry and Vance on the bench after fouling out, Oak Ridge pulled within 58-57 with 15.7 seconds left on a Lalanne free throw. Following a Fort Myers turnover, Oak Ridge had a chance to take the lead, but senior reserve Josue Celestin deflected a pass intended for Lalanne to teammate James Joseph, who was fouled.

Fort Myers v. Oak Ridge in the state basketball finals at the Lakeland Center on Friday March 6, 2010. Evan Graham brings the ball upcourt.

Joseph, who had missed three of his prior four free throw attempts, missed the first. Following a time out, he connected on the second, putting the Green Wave up 59-57 with 3.9 seconds remaining. Oak Ridge’s senior point guard O’Neal Lubin raced downcourt and lofted a potential game-tying shot from the paint, but it clanged off the back of the rim, setting off a wild celebration for Fort Myers.

“There’s not a better feeling right now than winning a state championship and the first one for Southwest Florida,” Fort Myers coach Scott Guettery said following the game. “But it wasn’t easy, was it?”

Senior guard Buddy McClendon scored a game-high 20 points for the Green Wave, while Vance added 12 and Graham 11. Fort Myers used their pressure defense to force 25 turnovers with McClendon and Graham combining for 11 steals.

However, without those late-game heroics from Celestin and Joseph, Southwest Florida might have still been searching for its first boys hoops title.

“That’s the kind of team we had where somebody you didn’t expect would always step up,” Graham said.

2009, 2011 Community School girls

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Photos from Community School of Naples 2009 girls hoops 2A title team

Community School of Naples players Vanessa Beretta (5) Vivian Grimes (30) and Hannah Allen (24) and others celebrate their Class 2A championship in Lakeland.

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Photos from Community School of Naples 2009 girls hoops 2A title team

Community School of Naples players Vanessa Beretta (5) Vivian Grimes (30) and Hannah Allen (24) and others celebrate their Class 2A championship in Lakeland.

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Photos from Community School of Naples 2009 girls hoops 2A title team

Head coach Mitch Woods and players (from left) Vanessa Beretta, Michelle Woods, Jackie King and Kristen Petersen hold up the Class 2A championship trophy after defeating The First Academy 40-34 in Lakeland.

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Photos from Community School of Naples 2009 girls hoops 2A title team

Community School of Naples player Hannah Allen grabs a rebound over First Academy player Taylor Knight (2) during the Class 2A championship in Lakeland.

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Photos from Community School of Naples 2009 girls hoops 2A title team

Vivian Grimes of Community School of Naples steals the ball from First Academy’s Taylor Knight during the Class 2A championship in Lakeland.

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Photos from Community School of Naples 2009 girls hoops 2A title team

Kelsey Steninke of The First Academy is tied up by Vanessa Beretta, (5) Vivian Grimes and Michelle Woods of the Community School of Naples during the Class 2A championship in Lakeland.

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Photos from Community School of Naples 2009 girls hoops 2A title team

Community School of Naples players Caitlin Schwartz (21) and Michelle Woods celebrate the Seahawks’ Class 2A basketball championship.

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Photos from Community School of Naples 2009 girls hoops 2A title team

Fans cheer on the Community School of Naples girls basketball team at the Class 2A state tournament last week. The Seahawks won the state title by beating Orlando The First Academy 40-34.

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Photos from Community School of Naples 2009 girls hoops 2A title team

Members of the Community School of Naples Girls Basketball Team work on rebounds during practice on Tuesday, February 24, 2009.

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Photos from Community School of Naples 2009 girls hoops 2A title team

Michelle Woods, left, and Grayson Pinholster, of the Community School of Naples Girls Basketball Team, run drills during practice on Tuesday, February 24, 2009.

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Photos from Community School of Naples 2009 girls hoops 2A title team

Kat Malat, left, and Kristin Peterson, of the Community School of Naples Girls Basketball Team, run drills during practice on Tuesday, February 24, 2009.

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Photos from Community School of Naples 2009 girls hoops 2A title team

Michelle Woods, of the Community School of Naples Girls Basketball Team, shoots a layup during practice on Tuesday, February 24, 2009.

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Photos from Community School of Naples 2009 girls hoops 2A title team

Hannah Allen, left, and Megan Myers, of the Community School of Naples Girls Basketball Team, work on passing drills during practice on Tuesday, February 24, 2009.

The Seahawks pulled off one of the more unexpected championship runs in Southwest Florida history — and then sent out one of the area’s best players on top two years later.

The team was comprised of four freshmen, a sophomore, three middle schoolers, and just one senior in 2009. The program had never qualified for a state Final Four.

But Mitch Woods’ squad defied the odds, taking down a more experienced The First Academy team 40-34 in the Class 2A state championship game.

Michelle Woods, a 2001 Community School of Naples graduate, led the Seahawks to three straight Class 2A state championship games, winning state titles in 2009 and 2011. She was named the 2A Player of the Year and Daily News Girls Basketball Player of the Year both seasons. Woods, who scored 2,365 points in five varsity seasons, played four years at Miami.

With the game tied at 34 in the final two minutes, the Seahawks’ defense came up big, and sophomore Michelle Woods got an and-1 to give CSN the lead. Vanessa Baretta led the Seahawks with 13 points.

Two years later, CSN accomplished the feat again with extra meaning as it was the senior season for Michelle, Mitch Woods’ daughter. The Seahawks also had just eight players on their roster that season.

“We didn’t have a JV team, so we scrimmaged against the boys here and there or the coaches would get involved,” Woods told the Naples Daily News in 2011. “It made things interesting, but the kids reacted well to it.”

The 2011 run was characterized by comebacks as the Seahawks trailed by 18 points in the second half against Florida Prep in the Class 2A state semifinals and managed to win 44-42. In the championship game, CSN trailed Sagemont Prep by 9 points and came back to win 53-41 behind 24 points from Caitlin Schwartz.

Michelle Woods posted a near triple-double in the final with 11 points, 11 assists, 9 rebounds, 2 blocked shots and a steal.

She finished her high school career with 2,365 points and went on to play four years at the University of Miami.

“It’s the best one yet,” Mitch Woods told the Naples Daily News after the 2011 victory. “We went out with a bang.”

2006, 2008 Barron Collier girls

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