PK Yonge Girls Basketball Continues their Tournament Run

The PK Yonge Blue Wave’s Girls Basketball team continues their tournament play on Tuesday, February 14, against Master’s Academy in the Class 3A regional semifinals. The Blue Wave advanced to this stage after a 57-28 win over Trinity Christian Academy on February 9. The Blue Wave, led by Head Coach Willie Powers, are hoping for a complete performance when they go up against Master’s Academy at home.

Reflecting from Previous Game against Trinity Christian

In the win against Trinity Christian, Powers felt that his team played much better in the second half compared to the first half. When regarding the first half of the game, Powers said,

“In the first half I didn’t like anything.”

He goes on to mention the second half reflected his expectations of his team. Powers was pleased with his team’s focus in the second half after being surprised to see his team struggle to start the first 16 minutes. Despite the early struggles, coach Powers highlighted one individual that propelled the team forward.

That individual was senior guard Ilayzia Wilcox. The lone senior on the Blue Wave was praised for her leadership during the game when the team was struggling. The leadership shown by Wilcox has been a common theme throughout the year with this young team.

The big matchup for PK Yonge and Master’s Academy

PK Yonge goes into this game against Master’s Academy with a few questions. The Blue Wave have played with a small roster for most of the season. However, the roster will be one player shorter on Tuesday, as one player fell ill and will miss the game. As a result, PK Yonge will have to play the game against Master’s with only 7 varsity players, with some players making the jump from JV. Despite that, coach Powers is still confident that his players will step up. He says that the mindset of playing hard and executing will be the same, even without one player.

Even with the shortened roster, PK Yonge still have some very key players that will feature. According to MaxPreps, guard Zion McRae and forward Ashlyn Young are two players that have been impactful for the Blue Wave this season. McRae averages 21.2 points per game in 18 games this season, while Young averages a double-double with 14.9 points and 10.4 rebounds, including a team-leading 3.6 steals per game.

Going up against the Master’s Academy Eagles will be a challenge. The Eagles are 20-6 and are coming off a 16-point win over Episcopal School of Jacksonville. Powers mentioned that the Eagles are a great shooting team and are well coached. Therefore, he expects his team to player 32 minutes of good basketball.

In regard to watching the Eagles’ film tape, Powers says,

“We are going to have to definitely defend, and we are going to have to hit shots.”

The first matchup between both teams since 2021, when Master’s took the win 59-37. The Blue Wave hope to get the win this time around. The winner of this contest will advance to the regional finals on Friday against the winner of Providence School and Florida State University High School.