Following a 22-3 season and boasting one of the top junior guards in the state in
Shambria Washington,
Trinity Catholic (Ocala) had much promise heading into the 2013-14 girls basketball season.
Even though the Celtics started 0-2 and 3-4, there was no cause for alarm.
Washington has been on a tear and Trinity Catholic has ripped off six straight wins, including triumphs last week over The Villages Charter (66-30) and Hudson (51-41).
For their efforts, the Celtics have been named the MaxPreps Florida Team of the Week, presented by the Florida National Guard.
"We are working on playing together more as a team and focusing on lots and lots of defense," said head coach Greg Long. "We have a very inexperienced team — only one player on our team has played in more than five varsity basketball games. So, we are working very hard and trusting each other."
Washington, a 5-foot-7 guard, is averaging a whopping 28.2 points per game, which ranks second in the state.
She isn't just a scorer. She also averages 7.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 5.3 steals per game. Washington has scored at least 30 in seven games for the now 9-4 Celtics.
Her high game is 41 in a 60-53 win over Citrus on Nov. 19. She's made 44 percent of her shots, including 33 of 92 on 3-pointers, and she recorded two triple-doubles this month — one being a quadruple double.
In a 52-27 win over Fort White, she had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists and in the win over Hudson she had 30 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals.
"(Washington) is not only our leading scorer, she is the team's leader," said Long. "She has worked hard for every accomplishment she's gotten. It is a very big task for a junior to be the only one left from last season who has experience. Shambria does everything that we're asking of her and the girls look up to her as their leader."
The Celtics have much more in a pair of freshmen,
Janae Morrison (7.5 ppg) and
Rebekah Di Lavore (6.1), and sophomore
Savanna Freimuth (4.5).
Lavore leads the team in rebounds at 8.1 per game and Morrison is a superb 3-point shooter with 12 makes thus far.
After a 55-51 win at Ridgewood Monday, the Celtics next play Dec. 26-28 at the Palatka Christmas Tournament.
"We want to make it into the state playoffs and win our district," said Long. "All our games are preparing us for that state game."
MaxPreps editorial assistant Kirstin Beal contributed to this report.
