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Z'Hills Girls Pull Away Late, 33-24

Photo by JOE DiCRISTOFALO

Springstead's Shannon Caphart hustles the ball up court Tuesday night versus Zephyrhills.

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: December 16, 2008

SPRING HILL - Still trying to scratch out its first district victory of the season, the last thing Springstead High needed was to lose some players.

Nevertheless, the Lady Eagles came into Tuesday night's Class 4A, District 8 home contest versus Zephyrhills minus two players and with three more still hobbled.

Though the Lady Bulldogs came in with only one more win than Springstead, they pulled away late to claim a 33-24 triumph.

"Being shorthanded with girls injured and girls sick, down to seven players, they played hard tonight," Springstead Head Coach Todd Toomer said. "If we made half the shots we took tonight we'd be up 16 points. We just couldn't get anything to fall into the basket."

Held off

Both teams had their best offensive quarter to start, with Zephyrhills (3-7 overall, 2-5 4A-8) taking a 12-7 advantage it would never relinquish.

Still, the Lady Eagles (1-8 overall, 0-7 4A-8) went into halftime down by just four, 16-12.

A jumper from the top of the key by Cat Morrison cut the deficit to 20-18 in the third quarter, but the Lady Bulldogs responded by scoring the final four points of the period to lead 24-18.

The run continued into the fourth quarter, eventually turning into a 9-0 surge. Danielle Williams hit a wide open Megan Gonzalez under the basket for a lay-up and 29-18 edge.

"Offensively we were struggling, not shooting well at all," Zephyrhills Head Coach Jerry Stacy said. "We needed to be a little more disciplined and look for better opportunities.

"We knew it'd be a defensive game. I told the girls, our defense does the job, that'll keep us in the game."

Sophomore forward Sasha Spalding, Springstead's leading scorer last season, is out for three weeks with an ankle injury. Samantha Shelmet was also out sick.

Toomer noted that a trio of other girls had just returned from rolling their ankles but still managed to play.

Zephyrhills' Jennifer Patria was the game's only double-digit scorer, tallying 10 points. She also had five steals, as did Gonzalez.

In addition, Gonzalez had six rebounds and three blocks, while Jamiesha Parker posted a team-high eight rebounds.

Jenna White led the Lady Eagles in scoring with six points. Jazmyn Armstrong, a 6-foot-2 junior, had an impressive night on the glass, collecting 14 rebounds. Morrison added seven boards and three steals.

White, Shannon Caphart and Caitlin Hughes chipped in three steals apiece.

"We're improving every day," Toomer said. "Being such a young team, it's good to see the girls play together every day. They want to keep playing and that's what you like as a coach. We just got to put the pieces together and we'll be a pretty good team."

ZEPHYRHILLS 33, SPRINGSTEAD 24
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
Zephyrhills 12 4 8 9 — 33
Springstead 7 5 6 6 — 24
Zephyrhills (33): Parker 0 0-1 0, Gonzalez 2 0-0 4, McKenzie 1 3-4 5, Williams 2 0-0 4, Patria 4 2-7 10, Stinyard 3 2-9 8, Gill 1 0-0 2, Warner 0, Crist 0. Totals 13 7-21 33.
Springstead (24): Je. White 3 0-0 6, Morrison 2 0-0 4, Donohue 1 1-2 3, Ja. White 0, Hughes 1 0-0 2, Armstrong 2 1-8 5, Caphart 2 0-0 4, Brinker 0. Totals 11 2-10 24.
Three-point field goals: none.
Total fouls: ZEP 14; SPG 16.
Technical fouls: none.
Fouled out: none.
Records: Zephyrhills (3-7 overall, 2-5 4A-8), Springstead (1-8 overall, 0-7 4A-8).

Sports writer Chris Bernhardt Jr. can be reached at (352) 544-5288 or cbernhardt@hernandotoday.com.

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