- January 21, 2026
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Every single Cougar met with her coaches individually before the season began. One by one, she wrote down and vocalized what she wanted to accomplish above all else.
The No. 1 goal among them was unanimous, and ambitious.
“Each one of them down the line said, ‘state championship,’” said coach Cortney Sawyer. “They set the standard for what they wanted to do this season.”
Putting dreams into words isn’t an uncommon practice for athletes. Title hopes are held by just about every committed competitor.
There’s a sobering reality to championships, though. They’re easy to idolize and hard to achieve.
Cardinal Mooney girls basketball has learned that much in 2025-26. With five games remaining in the regular season, as of Jan. 19, the squad sits at 11-9. The Cougars have taken a rollercoaster ride from November through January filled with more ups and downs than they’re used to.
For a while, their outlook was bleak. They opened at 2-5 and didn’t win consecutive games until Dec. 12 to 13. As the calendar turned to 2026, their resume still didn’t have much luster at 5-8.
But recent results have been more favorable. The group has won six of its last seven contests, gradually building those habits it embodied by ending last season on a 17-game winning streak.
“Just taking each game one at a time, especially as districts, regionals and states come along,” said junior guard Jadyn Watts. “And just scouting the right way for each team.”
Cardinal Mooney has every right to set an astronomic standard. It’s entitled to just that.
This program, after all, is the defending FHSAA Class 3A state champion, and has reached a remarkable five consecutive title games. Any finish this season short of a sixth will qualify as sheer disappointment considering such a track record.
It was quite the high for the Cougars on March 1, 2025. They hoisted the first state championship in program history after four straight seasons of settling for silver. They won bigger than they ever had before, but in the aftermath, they also lost — a lot.
Three of their five starters graduated, including now-Cincinnati forward Kali Barrett, who just so happens to be their all-time leading scorer. Four-star recruit Madi Mignery exacerbated the turnover by transferring to IMG Academy for her junior season.
Coach Marlon Williams, too, widened the void with his decision to step down after three seasons at the helm. All those departures left Cardinal Mooney in need of a new leader and with only one returning player from its title-winning starting five.
So Sawyer stepped up.
Formerly an assistant under Williams, he carries familiarity with the program, and saw what it really took to reach the highest level of high school basketball in Florida.
“He’s still trying to keep our program alive,” said senior guard Talia Busser. “He knows what our goal wants to be, and that’s his goal, too. He’s doing his best, putting his best foot forward and doing the extra things for us.”
Busser is the all-important piece of continuity from 2024-25. She’s one of the purest shooters in Southwest Florida, and with four new starters around her, has successfully translated her talents.
Standing at 5-foot-7, the seasoned guard has averaged 8.3 points per game while shooting 42% from beyond the arc, as of Jan. 19. Compare those marks to 9.6 and 41% from last season and her consistency is undeniable.
“Definitely, in my opinion, the best shooter in this area,” Sawyer said. “She also does a really good job of coaching up her teammates as well as being coachable.”
Much of Cardinal Mooney’s early-season shortcomings can be chalked up to elite competition. Per the FHSAA, this group has the 11th-toughest schedule in the entire state, and the fourth-toughest in Class 3A alone.
When rotations have been almost completely revised, it’s a tall order to expect winning ways from the get-go. Part of the process did require integration of Watts and junior guard Jayla Griffin into the program as transfers from Sickles and Bloomingdale, respectively.
But it hasn’t taken long for either of them to impose their will.
They’ve become a true dynamic duo as the team’s leading scorers this season. Griffin is responsible for 15.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, while Watts boasts 15.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in her own right.
“It’s been their coachability and endurance … For them to come in and play to that standard that we’ve set, they’ve done a tremendous job,” Sawyer said. “They work hard — high energy, high motor — every day in practice.”
These new-look Cougars inherited the pressure that comes with a title defense. Each of them willingly stepped into an exceptionally high standard.
A crippled roster hasn’t eased their efforts to meet it.
For their Jan. 17 game against The Villages Charter, only six players were dressed. Four different injuries have limited their depth to just one active bench player.
Still, they blitzed the Buffaloes, 60-23, that day.
“Every time we step on the court, we know what we’re holding with our team — that (title) expectation,” Watts said. “We just know that we have to hold those expectations every time.”
This team has learned the hard way that a championship pursuit is easier said than done. All goal-oriented players seek that coveted state title, but only so many will actually earn it.
Against the odds, wins have started to flow for the Cougars. They’ve suffered considerable losses from their roster and on their schedule to get here.
Whether or not they ultimately deliver on preseason words is up to them.
