Behind Cambridge, who finished with 33 points and 11 assists, Montverde Academy overcame a 15-point deficit in the second half. The lead changed hands seven times in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter with Cambridge, an Ohio State signee, scoring the final eight points for the Eagles.
Montverde Academy players and coaches mob Jaloni Cambridge after a 79-78 win over No. 1 Long Island Lutheran on Friday at Chipotle Nationals. Cambridge, an Ohio State commit, hit a runner with time expiring to give Montverde the victory. The Eagles face No. 5 IMG Academy on Saturday in the final. (Photo: Julie Brown)
Long Island Lutheran led 43-30 at half and built the lead to 47-32 early in the third quarter. But foul trouble for center
Kate Koval allowed Cambridge and Montverde shooters
Chloe Sotell and freshman
Finley Chastain to fuel an 8-0 run that cut the deficit to single digits toward the end of the third.
When Koval picked up her fourth foul, it again sparked a Montverde run as the Eagles outscored Long Island Lutheran 13-8 in the first half of the fourth quarter. Cambridge started the burst and Chastain gave Montverde its first lead since the first quarter with her third 3-pointer of the game.
Trailing 71-70, Long Island Lutheran grabbed the lead back with a steal and fast break bucket by USC commit
Kayleigh Heckel, who finished with a team-high 32.
Cambridge started her personal 8-point run with a pair of free throws and a runner to give Montverde a 74-74 lead with 1:12 remaining. Heckel answered after a Long Island Lutheran timeout and the Crusaders led 76-75.
Following a baseline drive by Cambridge, Long Island Lutheran's
Syla Swords was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 6.6 seconds left, trailing 77-76. She hit the first and third free throw for the one-point lead.
After a foul, the Eagles had 3.9 seconds remaining. The inbound pass found a sprinting Cambridge, who hit the right-handed runner on the left side of the lane over Heckel and Koval before being mobbed by her teammates.
Sotell had 12 points while Chastian and USC commit
Vivian Iwuchukwu each chipped in 11 for Montverde. In addition to Heckel's 32, Michigan commit Syla Swords had 16 and
Savannah Swords scored 14 for Long Island Lutheran.
Jaloni Cambridge scored a game-high 33 points for Montverde Academy in their 79-78 win over top-ranked LuHi in the Chipotle Nationals semifinals. Montverde plays for its third-straight event title on Saturday. (Photo: Julie Brown)
The Florida sports academy built a four-point lead after the first quarter and boosted it to 11 early in the second period on a Harmon bucket followed by a Roberts triple. But Grayson, the Georgia AAAAAAA state champions, trimmed the edge to 34-30 at the break on the strength of 10-4 run led by two 3-pointers from
Malaya Jones and strong play from
Danielle Carnegie, who finished with a game-high 25.
The Ascenders were able to separate in the third period controlling the glass. IMG Academy dominated the boards with a 38-22 rebounding edge and scored 19 second-chance points.
Heloisa Carrera grabbed 16 rebounds, tied for the fifth-most in event history.
While the game appeared under control for IMG throughout the second half, Grayson made a late fourth-quarter run. Down 58-45, Carnegie scored seven of eight points for Grayson on an 8-2 run for the Rams, capping the burst with a transition 3-pointer.
But IMG hit 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to advance to the final.
Erin Rodgers finished with 19 for Grayson.
IMG Academy's Deniya Prawl scores over Grayson's Danielle Carnegie on Thursday in the Ascenders' 65-56 win in their Chipotle Nationals semifinal on Friday. IMG takes on Montverde Academy on Saturday in the finals. (Photo: Julie Brown)
