Miami Country Day’s girls basketball program is without question a dynasty. Kristina Godfrey is one of the latest standard bearers of the city’s basketball power. The 5 foot 10 senior point guard capped off her career with her fourth state championship. She described the experience of ending the season by capturing another state title.
“It was amazing,” said Godfrey. “I previously won state titles in 7th, 8th, and 10th grade but this one definitely felt the best because I led my team all the way to the end.”
The Spartans are led by coach Ochiel Swaby, who has led the school to 8 state titles. This season’s championship was particularly impressive because the team’s leading scorer and one of the top players in the state Kayla Nelms was lost to a season ending injury. Gordon spoke about the season and how successful she believed Country Day’s year would turn out.
“The moment I realized that this team had what it took to win it all was when we played at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix. We beat teams ranked top 25 in the country which no one expected us to do. We felt if we could beat ranked teams out of the state, then we could beat Florida teams. We became unsure how things would play out when my teammate Kayla Nelms was injured and out for the season. However, after losing the district championship we were able to regroup and beat Westminster Academy in the regional finals and that’s when I was sure we had what it took to win it all.”
Godfrey was vital to her team’s success this year. She delivered a fantastic performance in the state championship game versus Cardinal Mooney. She finished with 20 points in a 54-38 win. The point guard talked about her love for the game and what she feels defines her as a player.
“I love competing. Growing up on a team that was always playing ranked teams around the country, I learned not to shy away from good competition. I would say the strengths of my game are my passing and scoring the ball off the dribble.”
Godfrey is the lastest in a long line of Spartans to move onto the Division 1 ranks. She will be attending Florida Atlantic University. FAU is moving to the American conference for this season. She talked about why she choose to attend Florida Atlantic.
“I felt that FAU was the perfect fit for me. Coach Sullivan and the rest of the coaching staff were very welcoming to me throughout the recruiting process. FAU is a great school and Boca Raton is pretty close to home so my family and friends can make it to games.”
The future owl had an amazing high school career. In addition to the four state titles, she scored over 1000 points and help Miami Country Day remain if the premier programs in the country. She described what she will remember most from her time in high school.
“I will remember all of the hard work that was put in every single day in practice. I will also remember how much my teammates and I pushed each other over the years to be the best versions of ourselves, and to always strive for greatness.”
We can not wait to see Godfrey suit up for the Owls and she what heights she can reach in her collegiate career. As for the Spartans, we imagine the standard that Godfrey helped maintain will continue to be around for a long time.