- January 22, 2025
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Everything that Marlon Williams does has a sense of urgency. From the way he speaks, to how he paces the gym floor, it’s clear for the Cardinal Mooney girls' varsity basketball head coach, time is of the essence.
It makes sense. In roughly three months, the FHSAA Class 3A state tournament will begin. The Cougars are familiar with the tournament — in the last four seasons, Cardinal Mooney has finished as the runner-up.
Last season, the Cougars were dominant, posting a 22-7 record. They beat Tampa Catholic in the regional championship 64-40 and Seffner Christian 66-52 in the state semifinals.
Things appeared to be different for the Cougars, until they ran into Miami Country Day School in the championship game, losing 75-51. This year, Williams is determined to not suffer the same fate.
“If you have any questions, ask now,” Williams called out to his players during a practice on Dec. 5. “Because if you don’t know what you’re doing or we mess this up, you’re going to be back on the line.”
Just like the state tournament, the baseline is also something the Cardinal Mooney players have become quite familiar with. If they mess up a drill or misidentify a play call — of which there are many — they get sent to the baseline to run sprints. If Williams, who has a fanatical eye for detail, spots anything he doesn’t like, a lack of hustle or a missed layup, the players get sent to the line.
The standard in Williams’ gym is high.
“He’s obsessed,” said sophomore Madi Mignery. “He’s never satisfied, which is a great quality as a coach. He’s tough on us, but we just get to work and he loves it just as much as we do. It’s great to have a coach like him.”
Holding his players to that standard, Williams said, is what will make achieving the team’s goal of winning a state championship possible.
Leading the charge for Cardinal Mooney this year are Mignery, a 6-foot-1 forward and 6-foot-2 senior small forward Kali Barrett. Barrett, who committed to play at the University of Cincinnati over the summer, is the engine behind Cardinal Mooney’s success.
Barrett is a do-it-all dynamo, capable of spacing the floor from beyond the arc and punishing opponents with a silky mid-range jump shot. Barrett's height and physicality allow her to be a force on both ends of the floor — last season, Barrett averaged 8.8 rebounds per game, good for second behind Mignery who averaged 10.8.
This season, Barrett has taken another leap. Through eight games, Barrett has averaged 16.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game — up from the 14.8 points and 2.5 assists she averaged as a junior.
Barrett has also grown as a leader, said Williams, both by raising the competitive level of practices with her intensity as well as directing the team on the court.
“As a senior, I’ve got to be a big leader on the team,” said Barrett. “I have a high basketball IQ, so I’m able to tell everyone where to go on the court. Madi has a high IQ as well, so when it’s both of us on the court at the same time everyone knows how to run the plays and execute them to the best of our ability.”
Mignery, ranked as the class of 2027’s no. 2 overall player in Florida by prepgirlshoops.com, has also taken another leap this season. While her rebounds per game have dipped from 10.8 to 9.5, Mignery has blossomed as a scorer, averaging 15.9 points per game and establishing herself as the second option on Cardinal Mooney’s potent offense.
Versatility on the offensive end is part of this team’s DNA and tantamount to the Cougars’ success this season, said Williams.
5-foot-7 senior guard Sy’monique Simon remains a steady scoring presence, averaging just over 11 points per game in 2024. Stepping into larger roles, however, are senior guard Riley Martin and junior shooting guard Talia Busser.
If Barrett and Mignery are Cardinal Mooney’s thunder, banging in the paint, contesting shots and cleaning up on the glass, then Martin and Busser are the lighting, striking down from beyond the arc.
The 5-foot-9 Martin, who transferred in from Venice High prior to the season, is shooting 38% from 3-point attempts this year. Nearly half of her 53 attempted field goals have come from the 3-point line.
Busser, who missed the entire state tournament with a broken foot, is averaging 10.4 points a game and is shooting 43% from beyond the arc. Busser displayed her shooting prowess when she exploded for a season high 22 points, hitting six of nine 3-point attempts in Cardinal Mooney’s Dec. 3 76-56 win over Fort Myers Evangelical Christian School.
“My philosophy is that we all are guards,” said Williams. “So when we bring it down the court, everybody needs to know where everyone is going to be. That gives us the advantage because it's difficult to have someone who’s a power forward or center try and guard some of our girls on the perimeter.”
For Williams, however, everything the Cougars do offensively boils down to what they do on the defensive end. Cardinal Mooney must defend with tenacity, said Williams, communicating with one another and rebounding the basketball to create open looks in transition.
If they can do that and play as a unit, then they have a shot at finally being crowned the Class 3A state champions.
“If we make it, this will be our fifth time in this game,” said Williams. “So you have to say to yourself, ‘this is it.' We’ve got to play hard and concentrate on finally finishing this out. That’s the goal.”
