Cardinal Mooney girls basketball breaks through to win first state championship

The Cardinal Mooney girls basketball team knew better than most what it was like to lose in the state championship.

Now it knows what it’s like to win. 

The Cougars used the motivation of losing four straight times in the Class 3A state championship game to hold off Jacksonville Bolles 64-54 on the evening of March 1 at RP Funding Center in Lakeland. 

“It was senior leadership,” Cardinal Mooney coach Marlon Williams said of the difference in this year’s state championship game. “I have Kali (Barrett), I have Sy’monique (Simon), I have Josie (Maloni), I have Riley (Martin). That makes a big difference, experience. They’ve been there, and they understand. 

“That’s what I was leaning on the whole time. Those young ladies to come out and play hard tonight.”

The win marks the first state championship in program history for Cardinal Mooney.

Although the runner-up finishes were disappointing for Cardinal Mooney, they ensured the experiences weren't wasted.

‘Finish what we started’

Four Cougars players — Barrett, Simon, Maloni and Avery Davis — have felt the frustration of losing three straight state championships. 

Sophomore Madi Mignery has only experienced one runner-up finish, but that was enough for her to make sure she never forgot what it felt like. 

Mignery said she hung her silver medal over her bed and made her phone’s screensaver a picture of her crying after losing to Miami Country Day in 2024. 

“We put so much work in and we just wanted to get it done and finish what we started,” said Mignery, who scored 19 points and nabbed 11 rebounds. “All the hard work and all the late nights, early mornings, we wanted to show that out here and show everyone we came for business. We wanted to show everybody we’re here, and we’re state champs.”

Simon said losing for all four years of her high school career was simply not an option.

“I knew we were going to win,” said Simon, who had 11 points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal at the time of her injury. “We practice too hard. Practicing at 6 a.m., going for three hours. We practice too hard to not win.” 

Unfortunately for Simon, she couldn’t influence the outcome over the final 14 minutes. She was fouled while going up for a layup, with 6:41 remaining in the third quarter and landed hard on her left elbow.

She left the game until the final seconds and said it’s likely dislocated.

Was it worth it? 

“Oh yeah, I’d do it all over again,” Simon said of coming away injured, but with a gold medal around her neck.

Fighting off collapse

Cardinal Mooney was in firm control of the championship by halftime. 

After leading 17-15 going into the second quarter, the Cougars played lock-down defense.

Bolles scored just four points that quarter as Cardinal Mooney built a 34-19 lead at the midway point. 

Adversity struck in the third quarter.

Not only did Simon exit with an elbow injury, but Mignery was whistled for a third foul less than two minutes in and had to be subbed out of the game.

That’s when Barrett and Martin stepped up.

The two seniors combined for 13 points and six rebounds to help the Cougars maintain a 53-40 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

That proved to be just enough. 

Bolles mounted a fourth-quarter charge led by Evie Freeman (21 points) and Presley Norman (15 points) to cut the margin to 57-52 with 3:06 remaining. 

The Cougars didn’t flinch. A layup and two free throws by Mignery over the next two minutes gave Cardinal Mooney security to hold off the Bulldogs.

“That’s what we’re built for,” Williams said of the game growing close at the end. “We’ve been in situations over and over again. We just took this game and left it all out there, but we didn’t think about that. We just thought about playing together. Even though we made mistakes, the next time is us.”

What lies ahead

Cardinal Mooney has established itself as one of the premier girls basketball programs in the state over the past five seasons.

However, several of the players who helped build that reputation won’t be around next season.

Barrett, who averaged 16 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game this season, is committed to play for the Cincinnati Bearcats next season.

Simon, who averaged 11.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game this season, will play for Harvard. 

Martin, who averaged 9.6 points per game, will also graduate this spring, along with role players Avery Davis and Josie Maloni. 

Just two starters, Mignery and junior guard Talia Busser (9.6 points per game), are slated to return. 

That means the Cougars may be in for a bit of a rebuild, but they’ll be doing so as defending state champions.