Head coach Chanda Stebbins and the Saints basketball team recently won their second consecutive Mid-Florida Conference Championship and as a reward, they will spend spring break in Niceville, Fla.

Located near Eglin Air Force Base, this city of 17,000 is probably not on most college students' top 10 list of spring break destinations, unless you play basketball in the Florida State College System. And Stebbins does not expect this to be a vacation by any stretch.

"March Madness is always the reward for a great regular season unfortunately for college students March Madness often coincides with Spring Break," said SF head coach Chanda Stebbins. "But we are fortunate we have a unique group of players this year. They realize that 'breaks' and 'vacations' can be done any time in life but playing for a championship is an opportunity not all get." 

The Saints bring a 10-game winning streak into their first-round game against Miami-Dade State College at 1:00 pm CST on Thursday March 5. The two teams did not meetup during the regular season.

"I love how hard our team plays," said Stebbins. "Our practices are always super competitive, and I think our fans are seeing that translate to the quality of play on game days. Our players have great chemistry and they really care more about winning than they do individual accolades." 

Stebbins, finishing up her 18^th year as head coach of the Saints, was recently named MFC Coach of the Year for the sixth time.  Under her leadership, the Saints have qualified for state tournament play 12 times, four times reaching the semi-final game. The former University of Florida basketball and volleyball standout feels this year's team may have a chance to go all the way.

"I like this team a lot which translates to high hopes," said Stebbins. "We have been in just about every game this year and think that gives us a chance to think about the big picture of possibly winning a championship.  But the reality is for every team going, we will be focusing on winning one possession at a time, one quarter at a time and ultimately one game at a time. 

This year's field includes some top nationally ranked teams with Northwest Florida State # 5, Gulf Coast # 6, Florida Southwestern State College # 12, and Eastern Florida State # 22 all in the bracket. And Coach Stebbins realizes others will be trying to pull major upsets.

"There are many time-tested and proven teams competing up there this week as well as some under dogs like us," said Stebbins. "This team is better than any other team we have taken to the state tournament, so we believe we have a shot." 

Freshman Aleisha Curry out of Lehigh Acres, Fla., recently named MFC Player of the Year, will lead this young roster filled with play makers, onto the court.

Curry leads the Saints in scoring, averaging 13.8 points per game and in rebounds with 11 per game which is tied for 15^th in the nation. She has recorded 11 double-doubles this year but won't be asked to carry the load all by herself. Four teammates also received All-MFC honors.

Sophomores Rosalee Nicholson, a transfer from Stetson University, and Chardell Jones were both named First Team All-MFC while Zoe Alexander and Danasia Bogle earned second team honors.

Nicholson averages 10.3 ppg. and is averaging 3.3 assists while Jones averages 8.3 ppg., a statistic that increased to 10 ppg. In MFC play.

Alexander, a freshman out of Dr. Phillips High School, averages nine points and six rebounds per game while Bogle averages 9.5 ppg. and 5.8 rebounds.

"Obviously very proud of newcomers Aleisha (Curry), Rosi (Nicholson) and Zoe (Alexander) receiving such high honors," said Stebbins. "Those were gaps we tried to fill in recruiting and it looks like we did. But we would not be where we are without some of our other newcomers like Taniah (Bowers), Teagan (Rothrock), and Yaire (Rodriguez) who didn't make a conference team but are essential to our success.  Also, I am very proud of Chardell Jones earning two consecutive years of first team all-conference and Danasia (Bogle) two consecutive years of second team all-conference."

As a team, the Saints rank second in the nation with 51 rebounds per game. Their average of 23.4 offensive rebounds is the nation's best and 15.9 steals per game ranks fifth.

"We have to continue to rebound really hard. We don't shoot it as well as some other teams do but our girls play very hard and create a lot of scoring opportunities with both offensive put-backs and defensive rebounds that turn into transition points," said Stebbins. "I also love how this team is able to translate pressure defense into points.  If we can keep putting pressure on teams and continue to crash the glass we should be able to compete with anyone." 

While many college students will be content to return from spring break with sun tans and sand in their shoes the Saints' goal is to return with a state championship. And if they do, they can start packing for another trip, this one to the NJCAA National Tournament in Lubbock, Texas.