02/27/2026
BSN GIRLS BASKETBALL PREVIEW: BAYSIDE LADY BEARS SEEK FIRST EVER TRIP TO FHSAA FINAL FOUR, TRAVEL TO BLOOMINGDALE TONIGHT
FHSAA CLASS 6A – REGION 2 CHAMPIONSHIP: No. 2 Bayside Bears (21–8) at No. 2 Bloomingdale Bulls (25–2) Tip-off: 7:00 PM
HOW TO WATCH
NFHS Network ($11.99 subscription required). Be sure to cancel after the game or you will be charged monthly.
Link to watch:⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/bloomingdale-high-school-valrico-fl/gam2c9276f889
PREVIEW
This is the kind of night that changes a program.
Bayside is already living in a season that will be remembered for a long time.
In head coach Jonathan Frazier’s third year, the Lady Bears have set a new program record with 21 wins, and they have advanced further than any basketball team in school history in the FHSAA state tournament.
Now they’re one road win away from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville and the first Final Four trip Bayside has ever reached.
The opponent has become the standard in 6A.
Bloomingdale is the defending Class 6A state champion. The Bulls have reached the Final Four three times in the last four seasons (2022, 2024, 2025), and last year they finished the job, winning the program’s first state title with a 43–41 victory over Miami Southridge.
They are 25–2 this season, ranked among the best in Florida, and they play like a team that expects to be there in the final weekend.
And there’s history here, too.
Bloomingdale ended Bayside’s season last year in the regional semifinal on the Bulls’ way to that state championship run.
This time, Bayside has already rewritten its own story, and the Lady Bears now walk into Valrico with an absolute legitimate chance to flip the script completely.
ABOUT BLOOMINGDALE
Bloomingdale doesn’t just win. They squeeze you.
The Bulls average 53 points per game and allow only 27, the kind of defensive number that isn’t a stat so much as a warning label.
They are 12–0 at home and they’ve looked comfortable everywhere they’ve gone.
They’re also balanced across the board, led by senior Mariia Fedoseeva (14.6 points per game), sophomore Kniya Godfrey (11.0), senior Aviance Torres (10.2), and junior Aydan Walker (5.0).
Fedoseeva is the headliner offensively, but Bloomingdale’s identity is what they do to you possession after possession.
They defend without fouling, they rebound, and they turn your rhythm into a grind.
Head coach Joel Bower is closing in on 250 career wins, and his teams play with that veteran confidence that shows up late when everything tightens.
BAYSIDE’S ROAD HERE
Bayside didn’t stumble into this moment, Jonathan Frazier scheduled them into it.
The Lady Bears have already played games that demanded Final Four-level composure, and they’ve done it against teams that, on paper, are every bit as imposing as Bloomingdale, if not more.
Bayside has faced Florida’s No. 4, No. 10, No. 12, and No. 15 ranked teams, along with the No. 2 team in New Jersey and the No. 6 team in North Carolina. All of them are still playing basketball.
That’s not a resume built for moral victories. That’s a resume built to walk into a defending champion’s gym and expect to win.
And when you factor in that this roster includes three players who already know what it takes to win a state championship, the belief inside that locker room isn’t manufactured, it’s lived experience.
The Lady Bears understand the preparation. They understand the pressure. They understand that in games like this, ex*****on matters more than emotion.
This isn’t a wide-eyed team hoping the moment isn’t too big. It’s a seasoned group that believes it has been preparing for this night since November.
They proved that last week in the regional semifinal against Lakeland.
That game had everything: runs, answers, pressure, and a final minute that felt like it lasted an hour. Bayside’s leading scorer Carleyssia Wallace fouled out midway through the fourth quarter, a massive swing considering she finished with 15 points.
When the Bears needed composure, Shamora Scott came off the bench and delivered four enormous points late. Donia Moaoui stepped to the line with the season hanging in the balance and buried the free throws that won it.
The final defensive stand ended the only way a game like that can end, with Scott reading the play, stepping into the passing lane, intercepting the final pass as the buzzer sounded, and the Bears erupting.
Now they take that same mentality on the road.
ROAD HERE AND THE NUMBERS THAT MATTER
Bayside opened the regional run with a 55–49 win over Heritage, then followed it with a 52–51 thriller over Lakeland.
The Lady Bears are averaging 51.5 points per game and allowing just 25, and that defensive number is the reason this is not a “happy to be here” moment. This is a legitimate opportunity.
They shoot 44 percent from the floor, 33 percent from three, and 58 percent from the free-throw line.
They have size, balance, and a senior core that has played meaningful basketball for years, including the Wallace sisters and Kamorah Sharpe, who understand championship-level pressure.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Carleyssia Wallace, Sr.
She’s the engine. Wallace leads Bayside at 13.9 points per game and grabs 7.4 rebounds per game. She bends games on both ends of the floor. If Bayside is going to take the next historic step, Wallace has to stay on the floor. Lakeland showed how valuable she is when the margin is razor-thin.
Ellieyana Wallace, Sr.
Averaging 9.8 points per game and knocking down 42 threes at 32 percent from the arc. When she finds rhythm, the floor opens for everyone.
Kamorah Sharpe, Sr.
7.5 points per game and 42 percent from three. The steady hand when possessions tighten late. She also adds 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
Donia Moaoui, Jr.
5.9 points per game and involved in everything. She distributes (1.6 assists per game), pressures the ball, and has already delivered in the biggest moment of the season.
Shamora Scott, Sr.
5.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Tough. Physical. A swing player who changes momentum in short bursts.
WHAT DECIDES THIS GAME
This is a collision of two elite defenses. The score likely lives in the 40s or 50s.
Bloomingdale wants to drag you into long possessions, win the glass, and turn every shot into a contested one.
Bayside can live there, too.
The difference may come down to three things:
Rebounding. Carleyssia Wallace sets the tone, but Bloomingdale rebounds collectively and rarely gives away second chances.
Foul discipline. Bayside must protect Wallace and Scott from early foul trouble against a physical half-court team.
Late-game ex*****on. Bayside has already survived a final minute that felt like an entire season. If this becomes another one-possession game, the Lady Bears won’t blink.
It is hard enough to win a regional title on the road. It is even harder when the road goes through the defending state champions.
But this Bayside team has made a habit of doing what the program has never done.
Win tonight, and Bayside makes history. They are ready. They are prepared. Now it’s about ex*****on.
THIS PREVIEW SPONSORED BY Coastal Strength Barbell
Bayside High Lady Bears Basketball
