Thursday, October 1, 2026
In many ways, the Lawrence Woodmere Academy girls’ basketball already won just by stepping on the court following the program’s six-year hiatus. But the Tigers believe it wouldn’t hurt too if they put a championship cherry on this season’s sundae along the way.
Despite having an eight-player roster built around five outstanding freshmen, the Tigers ripped through the competition this winter to the tune of an 11-2 record and a 9-1 conference mark that was good enough to clinch the Private Schools Athletic Association regular season championship.
Whom the Tigers will play in the playoffs and when has yet to be determined, but first-year head coach Ashley Jackson believes no matter what the outcome, this season is already a big success.
“What it has really meant, just for all of us, is something special,” she said. “It’s something unique that we can do for LWA and that we can do for ourselves. That’s what we’re doing this for.”
The 11 wins were one better than second-place Portledge, which they held on to beat for the second time in four days on Jan. 17. The Tigers led by as many as 15 points early in the fourth quarter, but the Panthers rallied and cut the deficit to 58-56 with 46 seconds left. Portledge’s press defense later caused a Lawrence turnover with 13 ticks left, and they had a chance to tie it after drawing a shooting foul, but neither free throw found the hoop.
Portledge had one final opportunity to at least tie it in the final seconds, but key blocks by junior Tianna Vidot and freshmen Ronese Jones and Mya Brave thwarted the threat to preserve the two-point victory.
“We knew Portledge was going to give their best the second time around,” Jackson said. “But when it came down to the stretch, we played defense. That’s what we do first. We take pride on defense.”
Brave and fellow freshman Laila Harrison co-led the team with 15 points that day and finished with scoring averages at just over 14 an outing. Harrison’s number would’ve been higher had she not missed four games early in the season due to injury, Jackson believed.
“She’s a kid that works extremely hard,” she said of Harrison. “I’ve never met a kid that is more selfless than she is. She thinks of her teammates way before she thinks of herself. What can she do for the team? That’s rather unique for a ninth grader.”
Freshman Molly Donohue (13.5 ppg) paced the team with 24 3-pointers, including a pair as a part of her 12-point performance against Portledge. Jones (8.9 ppg) is the ‘glue to our team’ who tends to get overshadowed because of the performances of Brave, Harrison, and Donohue, according to Jackson.
“She’s the one that does all of the dirty work for us,” Jackson amplified. “Getting rebounds, making big stops, she’s that kid.”
Another freshman, Nicole Ulloa-Nieto, boasts a nice mid-range jumper who can also be unstoppable at times, Jackson said. Tianna and twin sister Taylah Vidot and junior Gabriella Pierre have also made impacts in supporting roles.
