Boca’s Bazua is ‘Queen of the Hill’

By Mario Sarmento
SPORTS EDITOR

Last year, one missed three-pointer cost Karolina Bazua the “Queen of the Hill” title. This year, she was determined not to let it happen again.

Bazua, a junior guard at Boca Raton High, sank 11 out of 15 three-point attempts – including her final 10 in a row – to outduel Saint Andrew’s sharpshooter Ali Heller by one for the Queen of the Hill title at the Lakeland Center last week.

Bazua, who won the Class 3A title last year when she attended Pope John Paul II but lost in the Queen of the Hill finale, easily won the Class 6A title this year.

But it wasn’t easy, as she said, “I was up against a wider variety of girls. My mom was saying ‘this was your year.’”

Bazua’s family was on hand to watch her, and Boca Raton coach Larry Green was also in attendance.

Bazua was third out of six girls in the final competition, and she had to beat a score of nine to take the lead. Once she did, she said, “I’m just praying that I can stay in the lead. They definitely put some pressure on me.”

She was most nervous when her longtime friend Heller stepped to the line.

“She only missed one of the last five balls,” Bazua said. “Thank God for that last miss.”
Now that it’s all over with, Bazua said, “It’s such a big accomplishment. I was so excited to finally get it.”

Next year she plans to try and repeat, and this time she said, “I want to set the bar high … 15 out of 15.”

Senior Showcase

The 15th Annual Palm Beach County Senior Showcase is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. Saturday with the girls game between the North and the South. The boys will follow at 7 p.m.

Striker Soccer Supply will be donating the jerseys, shorts, and socks to each player.