- January 9, 2026
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Eva Lopes clutched a shiny, blue-and-gold trophy close to her chest. She kept a firm grip on it. After all, this was something she had worked tirelessly for three years to secure.
The eighth-grader stood surrounded by her teammates on the hardwood. They shared smiles and exchanged embraces as the tears began to flow for Lopes.
Coach Eric Hoskins took the microphone, waiting a moment for the echoey gym to quiet down so his words could be heard.
He promptly broke the news — Lopes had surpassed 500 points in her middle school career.
Sarasota Suncoast Academy, a K-8 public charter school, won the Florida Suncoast League girls basketball championship on Dec. 18 at the Sarasota Baptist Church gym. The group defeated Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences, 47-32, to lift the first title in program history.
Lopes further cemented her standing as a Bulls legend. The guard put up a game-high 21 points en route to completing her middle school career with 509 in all. She’s the all-time leading scorer not just for the program, but for all boys and girls athletes since the school’s founding in 2004.
The girls’ record stood at 125 career points before her arrival. After piling up 213 this season alone, Lopes has smashed through that ceiling.
“It’s honestly what she deserves, because she works really hard. She’s very passionate about basketball, so she’s always practicing, working out, shooting… she really wants it,” said Alicia Lopes, her mother. “When all that hard work pays off, it feels really good.”
Ultimate glory for the Bulls also meant a perfect 12-0 season — another first for the program. They returned to the FSL title game after losing to these very Tigers on this stage in 2024, and by scaling the mountain once more, earned redemption behind Eva Lopes’ dominance.
Sarasota Suncoast Academy trailed entering halftime of its Dec. 18 rematch, struggling to sink shots early. But the No. 1 seed pulled together in the third quarter and pulled away for good.
Rather poetically, perhaps, its star guard had possession of the ball as the clock expired.
“I do think this is a special group,” Lopes said. “I thought that we would have a pretty good bond, and after last season, (we wanted) to come even harder this season.”
Lopes averaged a team-high 17.7 points per game as an eighth-grader in a league where quarters are only six minutes long. Her record-setting middle school career as a scorer featured 16.9 points per contest across 30 games played.
In her title-clinching performance, she displayed the well-rounded shot arsenal that has regularly distinguished her from teammates and opponents alike. Lopes got active in the midrange, fought for buckets in the paint and made contested looks from beyond the arc.
This is the game she’s been developing for years. Basketball is a longtime love that precedes her middle school playing days.
“It just came naturally for me,” Lopes said. “I just worked on different elements to get to this point. I’m really grateful for all the time my parents and family gave me.”
Her father, John Lopes, was a heavily involved athlete himself growing up. He played baseball and football for a time, but stuck with basketball most at the high school level.
These days, he hoops with the Bunker League, a four-on-four amateur age group league operating out of Longwood Park. He was even named to its latest all-decade team.
Such an insatiable hunger for winning was passed down to his daughter, and unapologetically so.
“I used to be really tough on her. It’s just my nature,” Lopes said. “I’m competitive, so I’ve always told her, ‘You’ve got to be competitive.’ But little by little, I haven’t had to say (as) much, because she’s developed her own little thing.”
Hoskins had already heard of Eva Lopes before she showed up at fall 2023 tryouts for Sarasota Suncoast Academy. He’d seen her in action with his own eyes, having coached against her in G League, a Sarasota-based youth basketball organization.
So when she scored all 24 of the Bulls’ points in her debut as a sixth-grader, he wasn’t all that surprised. He’s since coached her for all three of her middle school seasons, and in that time, has watched her game improve from good to great, and then some.
“Eva doesn’t stop when you take away (her best shot) — she’s creative. She thinks when she’s on the court, so she has a really high basketball IQ,” Hoskins said. “There’s no quit in her, and you can’t stop a kid like that.”
Lopes’ impact on the scoreboard, though, goes hand-in-hand with the intangibles she carries. She offers leadership and intelligence on the court at 13 years old, per Hoskins.
Sarasota Suncoast Academy had never won 12 games, posted an undefeated season or claimed a league championship entering 2025. All of those achievements came to pass with her in the fold.
Through the eyes of Hoskins, the real blessing of Lopes’ presence is the teammate she’s been throughout a historic period for the Bulls.
“At this age, you don’t think you’re going to have an extension of your coaching staff on the floor. She was always a coach,” Hoskins said. “She was always a steadying force. Every player on the team trusts her… She’s going to lead well, and she does it with no ego.”
Lopes will join the high school ranks this fall. As of Dec. 18, her parents are strongly considering enrolling her at Cardinal Mooney, but no final decision has been made.
Wherever she does end up, it will prove to be a stepping stone toward something greater, should she have it her way.
“I want to play in the WNBA,” Lopes said. “That’s always been my dream.”
