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Marjory Stoneman Douglas Girls Basketball Teams Aim to Finish Season Strong

by Matt Rothman January 10, 2020

by Matt Rothman January 10, 2020 22 views

Photo courtesy @Sporcasso

By: Matt Rothman

Marjory Stoneman Douglas girls basketball isn’t too far off of their biggest winning season when they advanced to regionals back in 2017.

Leading the team this season is first-year head coach Gabriella Middleton. Born in Coral Springs, Middleton played high school basketball at Archbishop McCarthy, her freshman to junior year, then for Piper High School her senior year. After high school, she played college basketball at Post University in Connecticut before accepting the coaching position in Parkland for both the JV and varsity teams.

It has been a rebuilding year for the Eagles, as 11 of 16 players combined between the two teams are freshmen. They have won three games this season against West Broward, J.P. Taravella and Coral Glades High School

“We are a very young team,” said Middleton. “It is a learning season. The girls are working really hard. We are just trying to jell and bring all the girls together as we finish the season.”

Leading the team this season has been senior captain Asa Dykes, who currently leads the team in scoring and has been playing on the varsity team since she was a freshman. Fellow guard, Emily Cashion, has been a sharp-shooter all year and hit two threes Tuesday night against Flanagan High School. She will be continuing her basketball career for Johnson and Wales University in Colorado.

Other seniors on the team consist of Maddie Goodman and Anijah Avera, who are both terrific post players and two of the best rebounders on the team.

With the long holiday, MSD played three games this past week after not being home since Nov. 25. Their final home game of the season will be held on Jan. 14 against Everglades High School.

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Matt Rothman

Matt Rothman is a 2018 graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University receiving his bachelor’s degree in journalism and then graduated from the University of Florida as a graduate student. He also works for the Mohave Valley Daily News in Bullhead City, Arizona covering high school sports.