Volusia-Flagler's all-time best girls basketball player poll. VOTE now
Volusia-Flagler's all-time best girls basketball player poll. VOTE now
Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach News-JournalWed, May 6, 2026 at 9:38 PM UTC
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When it comes to girls basketball, the Volusia-Flagler area has produced multiple Olympians, WNBA signees, Division I college standouts and an annual group of high school stars.
Who's the best of them all?
How about Bridgette Gordon? She's a trailblazer, Olympic gold medalist, national champion and so much more.
Or Ronni Williams? She's a four-time News-Journal Player of the Year, a Florida Gators legend and now a local coach with Bethune-Cookman.
Or maybe someone else?
Let's vote.
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, USA TODAY Sports will celebrate the 250 greatest American sports figures of all time. Alongside that national recognition, the USA TODAY Network will spotlight the roots of the country’s sports culture: the high school athletes and sports figures who shaped communities and defined their states.
First, we are going to take a look at athletes in their individual sports.
Here are the stars of the hardwood. The 15 players (listed in alphabetical order) were all standouts at the high school level before advancing to college and, some, to the pros.
Don't see your preferred selection? There's also a write-in option.
Jayla Adams
Jayla Adams averaged 16.9 points and 5.1 assists during her senior year as Spruce Creek won its first state girls basketball championship.
Spruce Creek coach Kelvin Hamm labeled Adams a “program changer.” She started all four years for the Hawks, making three All-Area teams and earning Volusia-Flagler Player of the Year honors as a senior in 2018. That winter, she averaged 16.9 points and 5.1 assists. In the final game of her high school career, she knocked down 11 3-pointers to deliver Spruce Creek’s first state championship. Then, Adams rose to the college ranks at Florida Atlantic, George Mason and North Florida, where she turned in 10.2 points per game in 2023-24. She spent last season as a first-year assistant coach with the Ospreys.
Nitasha Brown
Brown averaged 15.7 points and five assists per game as a Mainland junior en route to the 2001 local Player of the Year accolade. She upped her scoring output to 18 points as a senior and signed with Auburn. There, Brown increased her role each season. During her final winter of college ball in 2005-06, the guard contributed 11 points per game and served as the Tigers’ best 3-point gunner with 35% success rate.
Athena Christoforakis
The first of two Olympians on this list, Christoforakis won the News-Journal’s 1998 Player of the Year award. She led Atlantic to the state final four while dropping 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists a game after transferring from Calvary Christian. She parlayed her success at Daytona State into an opportunity with Temple University under an up-and-coming coach named Dawn Staley. Yes, that one. Christoforakis averaged 10.8 points as a junior and 12.1 points as a senior with the Owls before taking her talents to professional teams in Italy, Spain and Greece. She used her dual citizenship to suit up for Greece in the 2004 Olympic Games.
Shannon Cranshaw
The 2013 Class 3A Player of the Year according to three separate outlets, Shannon Cranshaw helped Father Lopez bring home a state title in her senior year.
Cranshaw terrified opponents as one of the best shooters in area history. She became the first Central Florida prep player to knock down 300 3-pointers during her time at Father Lopez. She closed her career with 2,598 points after pouring in 22.5 — with five assists — per night as a senior and capturing the FHSAA’s Class 3A Player of the Year honors in 2013. She helped the Green Wave to their second state title before heading to George Washington University. Across four seasons with the Revolutionaries, she posted 4.2 points per game.
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Lexi Duckett
Duckett thrived immediately upon arriving at Father Lopez. In 2017, she set a program record with 48 points in a game and averaged 19.4 and 21 across her first two high school campaigns. After that, she shifted to DME Academy. She grew into a three-star recruit and was ranked the 34th-best in the country by Prospects Nation. Duckett enrolled at North Carolina and played 17 games as a freshman in 2019-20. She transferred to Wisconsin and appeared in 14 contests as a junior.
Ashley Folsom
Father Lopez's Ashley Folsom (24) averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds per game as a senior and was named MVP of the Class 3A Final Four in 2013.
Another member of Father Lopez’s 2013 state title roster, Folsom was a two-time All-Area first-team selection. The forward burst onto the scene at Deltona, averaging 15.5 points and 11.2 rebounds as a sophomore. She helped the Green Wave claim Class 3A gold with a double-double average (19 points, 10 rebounds) as a senior on her way to Southern Mississippi. After two seasons and 69 games there, she moved to Eckerd and led the squad in scoring with 11.6 points per contest during her final two collegiate go-arounds.
Tonia Gerty
Gerty grabbed the Volusia-Flagler Player of the Year award not once but twice — in 2006 and 2007. In the first of those seasons, the guard paced Spruce Creek with 16 points and six assists per game. She followed with 16.1 points, five rebounds, five steals and four assists as a senior, polishing off a four-year varsity career. She went on to the College of Charleston, joining as an important rotation player immediately before averaging double-digit point totals her final three years (10.9 ppg combined).
Bridgette Gordon
Gordon is one of the most accomplished athletes to ever come out of this area. She averaged an eye-popping 25.5 points and 14.7 rebounds per game as a senior in 1983-84, spearheading DeLand’s journey to the first girls basketball state title in Volusia County history. She signed with Tennessee and legendary coach Pat Summit, becoming a two-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion. Gordon won a gold medal with Team USA during the 1988 Olympics.
From there, she played professionally in Italian and Turkish leagues, claiming two FIBA European Cups. She later ushered in the WBNA, playing the first two seasons of the league’s existence with the Sacramento Monarchs in 1997 and 1998. When her playing days ended, Gordon put on her coaching whistle. She’s currently the head coach at Florida A&M. She was enshrined in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Tamara Henshaw
The post stalwart helped Flagler Palm Coast to its first Final Four as a junior in 2015. By the time her senior season wrapped up, Henshaw averaged better than 11 points and 11 rebounds while also blocking 155 shots across her final two campaigns. She trekked down I-4 to South Florida and collected the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year trophy in 2017. She finished her Bulls career fourth on the program’s all-time games played list (133) and fifth on its rebounding leaderboard (895).
Kim Manning
Manning broke Gordon’s 19-year-old Volusia County scoring record as an Atlantic senior in 2003, amassing more than 2,300 points. She was an All-Area first-teamer three times and the Player of the Year in 2002. As a sophomore in 2000-01, she averaged 25 points per game. That total dipped to 21.1 as a junior and 18.8 as a senior, but it wasn't because her scoring prowess evaporated. She sprouted into a true point guard, orchestrating the Sharks' attack to more than 80 victories in her four seasons. Manning signed with Stetson and competed in 117 games with the Hatters. She led the team in assists during two seasons and steals three times.
Olivia Olson
New Smyrna Beach's Olivia Olson (3) drives toward the basket against Leesburg, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025 during the Region 2-5A finals in New Smyrna Beach.
The most recent entry, Olson bounced to four high schools in four years, starring at each. She kicked off her career with a year at DME Academy in 2021-22. After that, she switched to Spruce Creek, earning the first of her three All-Area first-team nominations with 15.4 points per game as a sophomore. She followed with 11.8 points per outing for a state runner-up Mainland squad as a junior. Finally, Olson landed at New Smyrna Beach. She averaged 21.5 points and exploded for 30 in the state finals to seal the Barracudas’ first championship. She was on pace for a record-setting freshman season at Marshall last winter before suffering a knee injury.
Jessica Pressley
Pressley helped Father Lopez to Volusia County’s second state title ever, and first since DeLand in 1984, in 2005. The dynamic shooter averaged 22 points and four assists that season, capturing Player of the Year as a junior. As a senior, she increased her production to 23 points per game, chipping in four steals and three assists. Pressley earned all-conference second-team honors at Rollins College. Her highlights came as a sophomore and junior, when she had 11.8 and 10.7 points per game.
Anovia Sheals
Mainland's Anovia Sheals (4) makes a layup against American Heritage during the FHSAA 5A Girls Basketball State Championship, Friday, March 8, 2024, at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
Sheals dominated during her two years at Mainland. She secured Volusia-Flagler Player of the Year plaques in 2023 and 2024. During that first season, the forward averaged 19.7 and 9.1 rebounds as she led Mainland to its first state crown. Twelve months later, the Buccaneers placed as the state runner-up while Sheals submitted 19 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Following graduation, she was the ASUN Sixth Player of the Year as a freshman at Austin Peay. She scored 11 and 14.1 points per game as a freshman and sophomore. Last month, she transferred to George Mason.
Ronni Williams
Named News-Journal Player of the Year four times, Atlantic grad Ronni Williams comfortably cracked the local All-Decade team for the 2010s.
Williams was the area’s most highly recruited prospect since Gordon. The Atlantic Shark averaged more than 20 points and 10 rebounds in each of her four varsity seasons, sweeping the News-Journal Player of the Year honors and becoming a McDonald’s All-American and the top-ranked player in Florida. She signed with the Gators over the likes of Baylor, Florida State and Tennessee.
After an All-SEC Freshman Team debut, Williams paced Florida in scoring during her final three years. She led the entire conference with a 19.2-point average as a senior in 2016-17, edging future four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson. Williams got an WNBA opportunity after being picked in the second round of the 2017 draft but never appeared in the league. She played professionally abroad and now coaches at Bethune-Cookman.
Destiny Woodard
Woodward seemed destined for a fourth consecutive All-Area first-team nomination before a knee injury interrupted her senior campaign. But she built quite the résumé before that. She ignited her high school career with 21.1 points per game at New Smyrna Beach. She then transferred to Atlantic and recorded averages of 13.3 and 16.5 points per game while tag-teaming with Williams. Woodward committed to Buffalo and later saw action at Daytona State with 7.5 points per game in 2015-16.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Best girls basketball player ever from Volusia-Flagler area? Vote
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