ECS girls basketball heads to fourth straight Final Four

The Evangelical Christian School (ECS) girls' basketball team received a heartfelt sendoff as they headed to Jacksonville for the state semifinals. This marks the fourth consecutive year the Sentinels have reached the state Final Four, with hopes of reclaiming the state champion title they earned in 2024.

Students lined the sidewalks with signs, cheering on their regional champion Sentinels as they boarded the bus.

"It's become a standard. We know we're going to win. We believe we're going to win," said Kellisia Grant, a senior on the team.

Lanie Conley, a senior forward, reflected on the journey, saying, "At the beginning of the year, everybody kind of didn't think we would be where we are now. And just it was really, it was really great being a senior going out with it."

The team faced challenges early in the season when Grant suffered a season-ending injury.

"Ask any team in the state you're playing without probably the player of the year in your area and she doesn't play one game for you. That's how we started the season when we lost Grant," said head coach Dwayne Donnell.

Grant added, "Even though I didn't play this year, these girls showed me a whole new perspective of the game."

The team's recent history in the Final Four has been a mix of triumph and heartbreak, winning the championship in 2024 but falling short in the semifinals in 2025.

"We got put into perspective that it's not going to be guaranteed to get a win. That hurt, that loss really hurt us," said center Nalah Smith.

Lanie expressed confidence in the team's potential, stating, "We have confidence in ourselves that we're going to come back and win this year. So that's what drove us this year to really push ourselves."

Donnell emphasized the team's determination, saying, "We're playing the last weekend of the season. There's no more basketball after Saturday and we plan on being there and hopefully hoisting that trophy being state champions."

ECS is set to play Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy from Melbourne.