JACKSONVILLE — Simply put, Orlando Christian Prep was no match for Grandview Prep in the Class 1A girls state basketball championship Saturday at UNF Arena.
Grandview, the No. 1 seed, dominated from the outset, jumping out to a 19-point lead in the first quarter, and the Pride rolled to a 71-36 victory to win their second straight state title.
OCP was outmanned by a dynamic Grandview roster, as the Pride athleticism overwhelmed the No. 2-seeded Warriors. Grandview (26-4) displayed a balanced offense that saw all five starters contribute to the early lead, and an aggressive defense that shut down the middle and OCP’s big target in the paint, Breyanna Blount.
Orlando Christian Prep wins to reach FHSAA 1A girls basketball final
Blount rarely touched the ball and field goals were few for OCP. The Warriors made only four field goals in the first half as Grandview posted a 38-16 lead at the break. OCP, already without injured leading scorer Rosemarie Lisojo, was overwhelmed from the jump. The lead eventually ballooned to 38 points in the fourth-quarter.
Orlando Christian Prep girls basketball coach Stephanee Velez talks to her assistant coaches on the bench during OCP’s 71-36 loss to Grandview in the Class 1A state basketball championship game at UNF Arena in Jacksonville on Saturday, March 7, 2026. (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel)
“Honestly, we’re a young team even though we have five seniors and one of our better seniors (Rosemarie Lisojo) is out and we have to play with two freshmen,” OCP coach Stephanee Velez said. “This is a team [Grandview] that all five girls have been here before and they got two good transfers who had won states before, so they were just a team that was prepared for this moment.
“We’re a program that was just brought up this year. We haven’t had a girls program for two years, so for us to get here and get second place is still a victory for us.”
It was an impressive run for the Warriors in Velez’s first year as head coach as OCP brought back the program after it went dormant for two years.
Grandview, a private school in Boca Raton, was quite efficient offensively, moving the ball around in the half-court and getting open looks for Victoria Valle, who had 26 points, and Jasleen Green, who added 16. OCP was led by freshman point guard Brianna Nolan and senior center Blount, who each had 8 points.
Velez kept her team in the locker room with an extended speech at halftime and the Warriors did not return to the court until the buzzer sounded for the start of the second half.
Orlando Christian Prep leading scorer Rosemarie Lisojo had to watch from the bench with crutches and a knee brace as her teammates fell to Grandview 71-36 in the Class 1A girls state basketball game at UNF Arena in Jacksonville on Saturday. (Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel)
“I mostly told them, ‘Look, they are a good team. They have five Division I players who start, so just go out with pride. Just got out there and play with pride, be ourselves and be who we are,’ ” Velez said. “I told my seniors, ‘Just enjoy it.’ The tears at the end weren’t because we lost. They were just because they were done.”
The Warriors finish the season 21-8 and Velez said the future is bright. Nolan returns at point guard and another freshman guard, Velez’s daughter, Opal Velez, as well as a sixth-grader she is especially excited about in guard Kayliegh Baldwin, will be back.
“We did it together, we did it with God and they fought and they went through so much adversity and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Velez said.
Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.