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Palm Beach County has produced its fair share of professional hoopers, championships coaches and inspiring stories from the high school girls basketball scene.
USA TODAY Sports will celebrate the 250 greatest American sports figures of all time in conjunction with the United States' 250th anniversary.
Additionally, the USA TODAY Network will highlight the roots of the country’s sports culture: the high school athletes and sports figures who shaped communities and defined their states. This will include trailblazers and trendsetters whose influence reaches beyond championships and statistics. First, we are going to take a look at athletes in their individual sports.
This week, we're honoring the stars of girls basketball. It was no easy task to narrow this list down with so many impactful figures hailing from Palm Beach County.
Listed in alphabetical order, these players were all standouts at the high school level before moving on to even greater heights in college and the pros.
MORE USA TODAY 250: Palm Beach County's all-time best from boys basketball
Frost oversaw one of Palm Beach County's first girls basketball powerhouses at Glades Central in the 1980s and early 1990s. The Raiders won 90 percent of games in 10 seasons under Frost and at one point compiled a 100-game win streak. A state championship was elusive until 1993, when the Shundra Smith-led Raiders went 30-0 en route to the Class 2A state title. It was the first girls basketball state title by a Palm Beach County girls basketball program, a breakthrough that prompted Frost to tell The Post, “The monkey is finally off our back.”
It is no exaggeration to call Larkins the most decorated girls high school basketball player in Florida history. After joining Benjamin's varsity team as a 6-foot seventh grader, Larkins scored 3,612 points in her varsity career, played in six state semifinals and won four state championships. She was named Florida Miss Basketball twice and won the Class 2A Player of the Year award on four occasions. At North Carolina, Larkins was a two-time All-American and played in the Final Four twice. She was the No. 14 overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft and enjoyed a nine-year career in the league, winning a WNBA championship in 2012.
It's a credit to Rahming's talents that she could be featured on this list for her achievements as a player or coach alone. She starred at Twin Lakes High School in the 1980s, averaging 29.3 points per game her senior year and setting the county's scoring record. Rahming played college basketball at the University of Iowa before returning home to teach and coach at Palm Beach Lakes. She's won more than 550 games in nearly three decades as head coach, including the Rams' landmark Class 7A state championship in 2015.
There's a reason The Palm Beach Post tabbed Smith as the "Glades' Greatest" in the early 90s. Smith starred on Glades Central's historic 30-0 team which won the Class 2A state title in 1993, the first by a Palm Beach County girls hoops program. She averaged 34.1 points per game in her senior encore, repeating as The Post's Player of the Year. Somehow, basketball was only her second best sport as Smith set records in Junior Olympics and high school track and field before competing collegiately at Arkansas State.
Benjamin girls basketball was nothing short of a dynasty at the turn of the century under the leadership of Mike and Ronnalee Terry. From 1998-2004, Benjamin made seven straight appearances in the Class 2A state semifinals and won four state championships, including back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004. Mike was hired as an assistant at New Mexico in 2003, but Ronnalee stayed on to coach a final season, inspiring the community in her battle against colon cancer as the Bucs stormed to another state championship.
Williams' talents on the basketball court took her to the heights of the professional women's game. After averaging 32.5 points per game her senior year at Pahokee, Williams signed with the University of Miami, where she became one of the nation's top scorers and an All-America selection. She was a second-round pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft and notched numerous achievements across a 10-year professional career, including a record 51-point game in 2013, the WNBA Sixth Man of the Year award in 2015 and a WNBA championship in 2022.
Wolfe entered an exclusive club of coaches after her run with Alexa Zaph, Aaliyah Stanley and Co. at Oxbridge Academy in the late 2010s. The ThunderWolves won back-to-back state championships in 2018 and 2019, an achievement that had happened just once before in county history. Wolfe joined Benjamin's Mike and Ronnalee Terry as the only county girls basketball head coaches to win multiple FHSAA state titles, a club that has since recently grown to include Grandview Prep's Jeff Price (2025, 2026).
Who has defined Palm Beach County girls high school basketball the most?
Eric J. Wallace is deputy sports editor for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Vote on Palm Beach County's all-time best from girls basketball
Continue reading...
USA TODAY Sports will celebrate the 250 greatest American sports figures of all time in conjunction with the United States' 250th anniversary.
Additionally, the USA TODAY Network will highlight the roots of the country’s sports culture: the high school athletes and sports figures who shaped communities and defined their states. This will include trailblazers and trendsetters whose influence reaches beyond championships and statistics. First, we are going to take a look at athletes in their individual sports.
This week, we're honoring the stars of girls basketball. It was no easy task to narrow this list down with so many impactful figures hailing from Palm Beach County.
Listed in alphabetical order, these players were all standouts at the high school level before moving on to even greater heights in college and the pros.
MORE USA TODAY 250: Palm Beach County's all-time best from boys basketball
Graham Frost
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Frost oversaw one of Palm Beach County's first girls basketball powerhouses at Glades Central in the 1980s and early 1990s. The Raiders won 90 percent of games in 10 seasons under Frost and at one point compiled a 100-game win streak. A state championship was elusive until 1993, when the Shundra Smith-led Raiders went 30-0 en route to the Class 2A state title. It was the first girls basketball state title by a Palm Beach County girls basketball program, a breakthrough that prompted Frost to tell The Post, “The monkey is finally off our back.”
Erlana Larkins
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It is no exaggeration to call Larkins the most decorated girls high school basketball player in Florida history. After joining Benjamin's varsity team as a 6-foot seventh grader, Larkins scored 3,612 points in her varsity career, played in six state semifinals and won four state championships. She was named Florida Miss Basketball twice and won the Class 2A Player of the Year award on four occasions. At North Carolina, Larkins was a two-time All-American and played in the Final Four twice. She was the No. 14 overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft and enjoyed a nine-year career in the league, winning a WNBA championship in 2012.
Cassandra Rahming
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It's a credit to Rahming's talents that she could be featured on this list for her achievements as a player or coach alone. She starred at Twin Lakes High School in the 1980s, averaging 29.3 points per game her senior year and setting the county's scoring record. Rahming played college basketball at the University of Iowa before returning home to teach and coach at Palm Beach Lakes. She's won more than 550 games in nearly three decades as head coach, including the Rams' landmark Class 7A state championship in 2015.
Shundra Smith
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There's a reason The Palm Beach Post tabbed Smith as the "Glades' Greatest" in the early 90s. Smith starred on Glades Central's historic 30-0 team which won the Class 2A state title in 1993, the first by a Palm Beach County girls hoops program. She averaged 34.1 points per game in her senior encore, repeating as The Post's Player of the Year. Somehow, basketball was only her second best sport as Smith set records in Junior Olympics and high school track and field before competing collegiately at Arkansas State.
Mike and Ronnalee Terry
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
Benjamin girls basketball was nothing short of a dynasty at the turn of the century under the leadership of Mike and Ronnalee Terry. From 1998-2004, Benjamin made seven straight appearances in the Class 2A state semifinals and won four state championships, including back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004. Mike was hired as an assistant at New Mexico in 2003, but Ronnalee stayed on to coach a final season, inspiring the community in her battle against colon cancer as the Bucs stormed to another state championship.
Riquna Williams
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Williams' talents on the basketball court took her to the heights of the professional women's game. After averaging 32.5 points per game her senior year at Pahokee, Williams signed with the University of Miami, where she became one of the nation's top scorers and an All-America selection. She was a second-round pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft and notched numerous achievements across a 10-year professional career, including a record 51-point game in 2013, the WNBA Sixth Man of the Year award in 2015 and a WNBA championship in 2022.
Tracy Wolfe
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Wolfe entered an exclusive club of coaches after her run with Alexa Zaph, Aaliyah Stanley and Co. at Oxbridge Academy in the late 2010s. The ThunderWolves won back-to-back state championships in 2018 and 2019, an achievement that had happened just once before in county history. Wolfe joined Benjamin's Mike and Ronnalee Terry as the only county girls basketball head coaches to win multiple FHSAA state titles, a club that has since recently grown to include Grandview Prep's Jeff Price (2025, 2026).
Who has defined Palm Beach County girls high school basketball the most?
Eric J. Wallace is deputy sports editor for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Vote on Palm Beach County's all-time best from girls basketball
Continue reading...
