Cougars girls basketball team surpasses last season's win total

The Cardinal Mooney High girls basketball program won three games last season, and four the year before -- and lost a total of 38 over the same two seasons. 

The program has had a tough time sustaining success. But when new coach Rico Antonio was hired in March, he spoke of better things on the horizon — and he wasn’t necessarily talking about himself.

Antonio was excited about the school’s incoming freshman class. The Cougars have seven freshmen, and Antonio had seen the skills they possessed.

“It was the right time,” Antonio said. “I wanted to come on now.”

So far, it seems as though Antonio’s vision was correct. After dropping their first two regular season games, the Cougars have won four of their last five as of Dec. 11, most recently a 51-28 win against Sarasota Christian.

Mooney’s starters for that game were Natalie Mercadante, Madison Smithers, Emma Plumley and Avery Beach — all freshmen — and sophomore Lizzie Gasich. Smithers led the team with 13 points, and Jasmine Scurry, another freshman, had 12 off the bench. Their scoring, plus an aggressive defensive style, overwhelmed the Blazers.

The team has already surpassed last season’s win total, and tied that of the 2016-2017 team, in December. No matter what happens the rest of the way, the program is headed in an upward trajectory. But Antonio has high expectations and isn't satisfied.

“We have to improve our basketball IQ,” Antonio said. “I want to play up-tempo and pressure opponents on defense, and all that. The girls can get carried away sometimes. We have not reached the level we are capable of getting.

“There have been flashes. Tonight (against Sarasota Christian), there were a few offensive rebounds where we passed the ball back outside and got another jump shot. They still think that when you get a rebound you have to put it right back up, but you don’t.”

Smithers said the team grew close quickly despite being so young, and that “every game, you can see the chemistry growing.” They keep each others heads up, she said, and are learning to play well together.

The team’s schedule had a hand in that. The Cougars’ first five games were on the road. There was no cushy adjustment period. The young team was forced to learn how the high school game works right away.

They dropped two games against capable opponents, Lemon Bay High and Tampa Catholic, but a 55-32 win against Berkeley Prep gave them confidence. After that, the team’s only blemish, as of Dec. 11, has been a 42-37 loss to The Out-of-Door Academy.

While Antonio cautions the team has “a long way to go,” he also believes the Cougars can compete for the district title if everyone buys into the system and improves at the rate he thinks they can. The talent is there, he said.

And as for the next three years, Antonio smiles and leans back in his chair when he thinks about it.

“Oh yeah, I’m excited,” he said. “I know what the future entails.”