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Hernando Today

From Third Seed To Three-peat!

4A-8 GIRLS BASKETBALL

Photo by JOE DiCRISTOFALO

The Nature Coast girls basketball team: (front row, l to r) Tori Hattaway, Brittany Johnson, Crystal Anthony and Jen Marshall. Back row (l to r): Head Coach Travis Lamle, Mariah Byrd, Alexis Helfand, Shareka Maner, Alyssa Joens and assistant coach Kelly Joyner.

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: February 7, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - In some ways, this one may have meant more than the previous two.

Never before had Nature Coast Technical come into the Class 4A, District 8 Tournament seeded so low. Never before did the outcome seem so uncertain.

The past two years the Lady Sharks went into districts the prohibitive favorite. Anything less than first place would require a monumental upset and Nature Coast easily walked away with the crown.

But not this year, not with the Lady Sharks coming in seeded third and not when any of the top three seeds – including number one Wiregrass Ranch and number two Gulf – had a realistic shot at the title.

Yet Nature Coast, perhaps buoyed by hosting the tournament, seemed to peak at just the right time. The Lady Sharks rolled through Hudson in the quarterfinal and survived an epic battle with Gulf in the semis.

That brought them to Saturday night's final versus Wiregrass Ranch, a team they had lost to twice in the regular season.

Different time of year, different result; the Lady Sharks triumphed in front of the home crowd, 55-44, to make it a three-peat and four district championships in five years.

"It was a battle all game long," Nature Coast Head Coach Travis Lamle said. "We came to play in the fourth quarter, which was nice. Shareka (Maner) was great all the way. (Jen) Marshall was great from the line. We've been focusing so hard on Gulf that I was a little worried about going into this game.

"…High school is going to be cyclical anyways. You bring in a whole new crop of kids; we knew it was going to take time for everybody to catch up. But it's a tradition here. We win."

Maner an MVP

If there were such a thing as a most valuable player award for the tournament, Maner would win the honor hands down.

She finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds despite picking up two early fouls. For the three tournament games she averaged 23 points and 9.3 rebounds and generally dominated on both ends of the floor.

For the regular season she averaged 12.7 points and 8.5 boards, so clearly the senior has picked it up a notch in her final prep postseason.

"It's trying to step up, trying to get as far as we possibly can," Maner said. "The whole team is stepping up."

Maner was called for her second foul at the 3:19 mark of the first quarter with Nature Coast (21-6) nursing a 12-11 lead.

She re-entered at 6:31 in the second quarter after Regan Knapik's three put Wiregrass Ranch (22-5) ahead by six, 24-18.

Maner posted seven points in the period before sitting down with two minutes left in the half, Nature Coast holding a 27-24 edge it would never relinquish.

"She's just been incredible," Lamle said of Maner. "Her work ethic is better. Her composure on the floor is getting better. We're finding her and getting her touches down low."

Maner added six points on three baskets in the third quarter, the last one making it 39-29. The Lady Sharks led 42-34 at the start of the fourth.

Kelly McCaffrey's three-point play pulled the Lady Bulls within four, 48-44, with 1:27 left to play. Brittany Johnson picked off a pass with a minute remaining, a huge steal to cut off that final rally.

Wiregrass Ranch was whistled for 26 fouls, compared to 17 by the Lady Sharks, leading to 34 Nature Coast free throws and drawing the ire of Lady Bulls Head Coach Greg Finkel, who got hit with a technical in the third quarter.

Marshall became the most frequent visitor to the charity stripe, hitting 11-of-17 foul shots. The junior guard scored 17 points and hauled in 10 rebounds.

"We knew they beat us twice," Marshall said. "It was our turn to come back. It was our place. We were all fired up. We wanted to show them who really deserved a spot."

The Lady Sharks survived 14 points by McCaffrey and 11 from Knapik. Julie Gould added eight points and four steals.

But in the end Nature Coast found itself in the same position it has the past two years: hoisting up the championship trophy, even as a three seed.

"I think our whole team took it personally," Maner said. "Everybody was saying we were the underdogs coming in. The whole team took it to heart."

NATURE COAST 55, WIREGRASS RANCH 44
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
Nature Coast 18 13 11 13 — 55
Wiregrass Ranch 17 10 7 10 — 44
Nature Coast (55): Helfand 0, Joens 1 0-0 2, Maner 9 3-6 23, Anthony 2 2-7 8, Marshall 3 11-17 17, Byrd 1 0-0 3, Bossey 0 2-2 2, Johnson 0 0-2 0. Totals 16 18-34 55.
Wiregrass Ranch (44): Wash 1 0-1 2, McCaffrey 4 5-5 14, DeLoach 2 1-7 5, J. Gould 4 0-0 8, Knapik 4 1-2 11, Reid-Chacon 2 0-0 4, Ballish 0, L. Gould 0, Bowman 0, Kluender 0, Duran 0. Totals 17 7-15 44.
Three-point field goals: NCT 5 (Anthony 2, Maner 2, Byrd); WGR 3 (Knapik 2, McCaffrey).
Total fouls: NCT 17; WGR 26.
Technical fouls: Lamle (NCT-coach), Finkel (WGR-coach), J. Gould 2 (WGR).
Fouled out: J. Gould, Knapik (WGR).
Records: Nature Coast (21-6), Wiregrass Ranch (22-5).

CLASS 4A, DISTRICT 8 TOURNAMENT
at Nature Coast Technical

02-02
Springstead 45, Sunlake 36

02-03
Gulf 55, Zephyrhills 21
Wiregrass Ranch 54, Springstead 25

02-04
Hernando 47, Pasco 36
Nature Coast 66, Hudson 29

02-06
Wiregrass Ranch 52, Hernando 49
Nature Coast 40, Gulf 34

02-07
(Championship)
Nature Coast 55, Wiregrass Ranch 44

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

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