GEICO High School Nationals

On Friday April 2, the GEICO High School Nationals will tip off at Suncoast Credit Union Arena on the campus of Florida Southwestern State College in Fort Myers, FL.

The matchups will be:

1030am ET | Lake Highland Prep (FL) vs Paul VI (VA)

1230pm ET | Westlake (GA) vs Fremont (UT).

The winners will play on Saturday, April 3 at 10am ET for the GEICO Title on ESPN2. The semifinals will be on ESPNU.

All four of the teams will have had quite a significant break since last official competition. Three of the teams won their respective state championships their last time out. All have been focused on staying conditioned and game simulation while mentally preparing for the big stage that ESPN will provide. None of the participants have lost a game this season.

All of the coaches have stressed to their teams the importance of staying diligent in their safety protocols in preparation for such an opportunity. The players have to create their own little circle and sacrifice some activities in order to be able to enter into the GEICO bubble.


PAUL VI (VA) | Head Coach: Scott Allen | 10-0
75.1 Team PPG | 19.3 Team Assists Avg. | 50 Opponent Scoring PPG

            Isabella Perkins | Senior Guard | Unsigned
            16.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists

            Lee Volker | Senior Wing | Duke Signee
            16.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists

            Jaelyn Talley | Junior Forward
            9.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists


Senior guard Isabella Perkins of Paul VI.                                                                                                                                                                Stephanie Zaso

Of all of the teams in the GEICO bracket, Paul VI had the most unusual year. They did not play an official WCAC schedule and essentially had to piece together a schedule where they could. They hosted several home games and even played 40 min games knowing they would be limited. They haven’t had a game since February 9^th.

In preparation, they have been practicing hard a few times a week. They simulate game situations with intrasquad scrimmages and officials as much as they can. Coach Allen emphasized they want to be prepared without wearing the team out. The Paul VI team knows what kind of opportunity this is.

“In an event like GEICO, every possession matters. We will make the best of it,” Coach Allen said.

LAKE HIGHLAND PREP (FL) | Head Coach Al Honor | 19-0  
67.5 Team PPG | 14.2 Team Assists Avg. | 33.2 Opponent Scoring PPG
Florida 4A State Champions


Lake Highlanp Prep Heach Coach, Al Honor. Coach Honor is the 20-21 Naismith Coach of the Year.                                                         Bob Gall

            Kayla Blackshear | Senior Forward | Alabama Signee | ESPNW No. 75
            10.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.3 steals

            Nyla Harris | Junior Forward | Louisville Commit | ESPNW No. 11
            11.9 points, 7.2 rebounds

            Stefanie Ingram | Junior Point Guard | Central Florida Commit
            9.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists

LHP has had an incredibly successful year. Not only did they win the prestigious United Bank Holiday Invitational (Myrtle Beach, SC) in December and win the 4A Florida State Championship while compiling an undefeated record, but Coach Al Honor was named the Naismith Coach of the Year.


Junior Louisville commit Nyla Harris of Lake Highland Prep.                                                                                                                             Bob Gall

The program will have had a month gap in between games before the GEICO event, but they have taken advantage of their strength and conditioning program to get healthy and stay in shape. Coach Honor mentioned assistant coaches jumping in the action to aide in game simulations and scrimmages (the team only has eight healthy players and cannot scrimmage with any outside athletes).

“We are ‘dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s.’ We will be prepared,” Coach Al Honor said.

FREMONT HIGH SCHOOL (UT) | Head Coach Lisa Dalebout | 26-0
70 Team PPG | 18.2 Team Assists Avg. | 31.7 Opponent Scoring PPG
Utah 6A State Champions

            Emma Calvert | Senior Forward | BYU Signee | ESPNW No. 74
            17.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 blocks

            Timea Gardiner | Junior Forward | Oregon State Commit | ESPNW No. 4
            13.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists   *Will miss event due to injury

            Maggie Mendelson | Sophomore Post | ESPNW No. 21
            14.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.9 blocks


BYU bound senior Emma Calvert.                                                                                                              Julie Argyles

Coach Lisa Dalebout’s squad has one of the more formidable front lines in the entire country. Unfortunately, recent Oregon State commit Timea Gardiner will not be able to participate in the GEICO event due to an injury. However, they still have the 6’4 Calvert and 6’6 Mendelson inside. Coach Dalebout said they have been preparing for Westlake’s speed by scrimmaging against some of the boys team players from their high school.

Senior point guard Halle Duft recently committed to UMKC and leads the team with 5.7 assists per game. Coach Dalebout said the team has had a chance to adjust in Gardiner’s absence by playing more zone than they normally would and by the shared responsibility of every one on the team stepping up their play.

“We like to say we have a leader in every locker,” Coach Dalebout said.

WESTLAKE HIGH SCHOOL (GA) | Head Coach Hilda Hankerson | 20-0
73.1 Team PPG | 14.6 Team Assists Avg. | 35.8 Opponent Scoring PPG
Georgia 6A State Champions


South Carolina bound point guard and 20-21 Naismith Player of the Year, Raven Johnson of Westlake.                                     Brittany Graham

            Raven Johnson | Senior Point Guard | South Carolina Signee | ESPNW No. 2
            15.1 points, 5 rebounds, 5.8 assists
           
            Briana Turnage | Senior Forward | Virginia Tech Signee | ESPNW No. 61
            10 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists

            Ta’Niya Latson | Junior Guard | ESPNW No. 39
            23.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists


2022 stock riser Ta'Niya Latson of Westlake.                                                                                                                                   Brittany Graham

Westlake had an historical season as they won their fourth straight Georgia State Championship. The two players who were on all four of those teams were Raven Johnson and Briana Turnage. Fortunately, they were also on the last Westlake team that participated in GEICO.

Coach Hankerson said she believes that helps with her team’s preparation this time around. She expects the experience to help with the nerves and with the big eyes she saw the last time they were on this stage. She said her team took four days off and got back to very detailed and focused work.

“We have a different mindset this time. We will do whatever it takes,” Coach Hankerson confidently stated.