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4A-8 GIRLS BASKETBALL

Photo by JOE DiCRISTOFALO

Springstead High senior Caitlin Hughes blows past Sunlake’s Natalia Germoso (1) for two of her 13 points Monday night at Nature Coast Technical. Springstead eliminated No. 9 seed Sunlake, 45-36.

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By TONY CASTRO SPORTS EDITOR

Hernando Today

Published: February 2, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - Thanks goodness the inventor of modern basketball, Dr. James Naismith, was not around Monday night to see the quality of hoops exhibited in the Class 4A, District 8 Girls Basketball Tournament opener at Nature Coast Technical.
If he did, he'd be agonizing in disbelief.
Imagine, No. 8 seed Spring Hill-Springstead's fortunes.
The Lady Eagles (7-15 overall) misfired on 35-of-51 field goal attempts against No. 9 seed Land O'Lakes-Sunlake, clanked 20-of-27 free throw attempts, committed 24 turnovers, and were whistled for 21 fouls. In fact, three SHS players fouled out.
Yet, Springstead somehow never trailed in defeating Sunlake, 45-36, behind senior guard Christine Brinker's 16 points – featuring a game-high five three-pointers, 16 rebounds by 6-foot-1 center Jazmyn Armstrong and 13 points by senior forward Caitlin Hughes.
The Eagles, who split the season series with the 2-25 Seahawks, advance to Tuesday night's 7:30 p.m. quarterfinals against (more good news!) top-seeded Wesley Chapel-Wiregrass Ranch.
The Lady Bulls stampeded the Eagles twice during the regular season, 67-18 and 58-31.

Eagle standouts

Both Brinker and Hughes admitted they did not want Monday night to be their last prep hoop game.
"Once I hit my first three (treys) I felt pretty good," summed up the 17-year-old Brinker. "I know I didn't want this to be my last game. I worked my butt off."
What about Tuesday?
"We need to bring it tomorrow," replied Brinker, who finished 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 1-of-6 from the foul line.
"This was a big game for us," added the 17-year-old Hughes. "We were their first-ever win, so we didn't want that happening again. I think we came in hungry."
What about the thought of playing your final game?
"Yeah, it's something we thought about," responded Hughes. "We all wanted to come out hard and play again tomorrow."
And the Lady Bulls?
"We've got to play a completely different style against Wiregrass than what we played tonight," said Hughes. "For one, we have to be much smarter on our fouls."
"We controlled the board with Jazmyn in the game," explained Springstead Head Coach Todd Toomer. "When you see her out there, she gives us a tremendous presence on the floor. What'd she have 16 boards? And she didn't play the third quarter (due to four first-half fouls)."
How well does Springstead matchup against Wiregrass?
"Wiregrass is well disciplined team," answered Toomer. "They love to press and they make smart decisions with the basketball. We need to play at another intelligence level. Wiregrass plays well together and Coach Finkel has done a tremendous job with those kids."
If the Eagles were fortunate Monday night, the Seahawks weren't.
Sure, Sunlake concluded its second varsity season by doubling its win count from a season ago, but it also closed with a four-game losing skein.
Second-year Head Coach Robert Kamps' team, which averaged less than 20 points per game, suffered self-inflicted wounds against Springstead, misfiring on 18-of-36 foul shot attempts, committing a game-high 26 turnovers and getting ticketed for 26 fouls. Like Springstead, Sunlake also had three players foul out.
Sunlake junior Lindsey Robinson helped the Seahawks hang around behind a game-high 18 points before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.

SPRINGSTEAD 45, SUNLAKE 38
Qtr. Scoring           1  2  3  4
Sunlake                9 11 7 9 — 36
Springstead           16 10 11 8 — 45
SUNLAKE (36): Germoso 1 0-0 2, L. Robinson 5 8-16 18, Roberts 1 2-4 4, Schmidt 1 3-6 5, Maynor 1 2-3 4, Moreno 0, Washburn 0 2-4 2, Manrique 0, Gaul 0, VanZyl 1 0-0 2, A. Robinson 0 1-3 1. Totals 10 18-36 38.
SPRINGSTEAD (45): Brinker 5 1-6 16, Hughes 5 3-7 13, Jenna White 1 2-4 4, Morrison 1 0-0 2, Armstrong 3 2-9 8, Tijerina 0, Caphart 0 0-1 0, Palmieri 0, Pisano 1 0-0 2, Davis 0. Totals 16 7-27 45.
Three-point field goals: SPG 5 (Brinker).
Total fouls: SNL: 26; SPG 21.
Fouled out: SNL: L. Robinson, A. Robinson, Schmidt; SPG: Hughes, Morrison, Caphart.
Technical fouls: none.
Records: Sunlake (2-25), Springstead (7-15).

Sports Editor Tony Castro can be reached at 544-5278 or online at acastro@hernandotoday.com.

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