Seacrest girls basketball advances to first Final Four

The Seacrest Country Day School girls basketball team is making history as they head to the Class 1A state semifinals for the first time after securing the regional title. This achievement marks a significant milestone for the program.

"It's been a long time coming," said Nikita Carty, head coach of the Seacrest Country Day School girls basketball team.

Kailee Hayhurst, a senior shooting guard, expressed her excitement.

"We've had multiple years where we came close. So it was really nice to close out the game and just have a lot of fun with our teammates," said Hayhurst.

The journey to the state semifinal in Jacksonville has been a six-year effort for the team. When Carty arrived on campus, the basketball program was in need of rebuilding.

"There wasn't a basketball team the year before I got here," said Carty.

The Sting Rays did not play any games during the 2019-20 season.

"I was begging girls to play basketball. It was like a club. It was like hey do you want to play eh I don't know about it. But I had a very strong freshman class. Just a couple of girls set the tone, worked hard, and we set the tone and we set the culture from there," said Carty.

Hayhurst joined the team as an eighth-grader during Carty's second season. Despite missing all of last season due to injury, she returned to help the team achieve this historic moment.

"I think we work together really well. We've had a lot of missing parts over the years with injuries and stuff like that. We were able to bring everyone together and I think we have a lot of fun playing with each other," said Hayhurst.

The team is not done yet. They aim to hang a state championship banner in the rafters, just two wins away from making it a reality.

"This has always been known as a volleyball school and these past few years we've been building a program for the past five years I've been a part of it. And it would just mean a lot to get a banner up there with our names on it," said Hayhurst.

Carty is optimistic about their chances.

"The things that got us here, continue to do that up there. No matter where we play, what we do, we know defense travels. We know energy travels and that's what we plan on doing," said Carty.

The Seacrest Sting Rays are determined to bring home a state championship.