TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Hernando Today

Flat 'Cats Still Stymie Central, 56-54

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: January 15, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - Through the first half it was hard to tell which team came into Thursday night's Class 5A, District 7 match-up with only one loss on the season.

Wesley Chapel improved to 18-1, 6-0 in 5A-7, with a 56-54 win over host Central, but only after overcoming a lethargic first half.

"We were flat as a pancake," Wesley Chapel Head Coach Karim Nohra said. "It doesn't get any flatter. And they came out with a lot of fire and spit in their eyes and we didn't respond until the third quarter."

The Lady Bears (9-8 overall, 3-3 5A-7), 67-52 losers at Wesley Chapel last month, held a 14-7 lead after the first quarter and took a 26-23 advantage into halftime.

But Central hurt itself as much as the visiting the Wildcats did, committing 22 turnovers and 21 fouls. All five starters had at least three fouls, two had four and one fouled out completely.

"I think we took ourselves out of the game by getting ourselves in foul trouble," Central Head Coach Penny Gressick said. "We couldn't play the way we normally like to play.

"I had people playing positions where I would never play them at that position, but I didn't have a choice because of where we were on fouls. We made some bad decisions too against the press."

Houston carries 'Cats

Shantel Houston almost singlehandedly kept Wesley Chapel in the game with 29 points, eight rebounds and six steals.

She scored the first six points of the second quarter to cut the Lady Bear edge to one, 14-13, and tied the game at 17 on a three-point play with 2:56 left in the half.

After the Lady 'Cats again knotted it up at 19, Angela Velez provided five straight points for Central, who clung to a three-point lead at intermission.

Still, the Lady Bears could not contain Houston. She had 12 points in the third quarter, including the three that finally put Wesley Chapel in front, 37-36, with under four minutes remaining in the period.

Another trey by Hannah Noble broke a 39-all score at the 1:35 mark of the third and the Lady 'Cats never trailed again, though McKenzie Burns' three just before the final horn cut the final margin to two.

"We had an emotional game against Land O' Lakes last night and I'm pretty sure they're pretty drained and sapped out," Nohra said. "Jumping on the bus and coming up here, we were just flat. The good thing is we were resourceful enough to fight through that and come out with a W."

Amanda Morris paced Central with 12 points to go along with seven rebounds. Tikiera Relaford posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards, and also blocked two shots.

Burns had nine points, five assists and four steals, while Krystal Mejia provided eight points, including a pair of three-pointers, off the bench.

Blair Morris had seven points and nine rebounds; Velez had eight points with two threes.

The Lady Bears still have two pivotal 5A-7 contests at home versus Ridgewood on Friday and Tuesday at River Ridge. They are in a three-team battle with Ridgewood and Land O' Lakes for the second and third seeds in the five-team district tournament.

The second and third seeds would meet in the semifinals for a regional berth and avoid seeing Wesley Chapel until the final.

"If we take care of the ball and run our offense, I'm happy with that," Gressick said. "I told them in the locker room before the game, we need to take care of the ball and stay out of foul trouble, and we didn't do either of those."

WESLEY CHAPEL 56, CENTRAL 54
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
Wesley Chapel 7 16 19 14 — 56
Central 14 12 13 15 — 54
Wesley Chapel (56): Brown 0, Houston 11 6-8 29, Cannon 4 0-4 8, Mas 0, Noble 2 5-7 10, Lennox 3 0-0 7, Braynen 1 0-2 2, Sanders 0. Totals 21 11-21 56.
Central (54): A. Morris 5 2-2 12, B. Morris 3 0-0 7, Relaford 3 4-9 10, Burns 3 1-2 9, Velez 3 0-0 8, Mejia 2 2-2 8, Sims 0, Jackson 0. Totals 19 9-15 54.
Three-point field goals: WC 3 (Noble, Houston, Lennox); CEN 7 (Velez 2, Burns 2, Mejia 2, B. Morris).
Total fouls: WC 14; CEN 21.
Technical fouls: none.
Fouled out: B. Morris (CEN).
Records: Wesley Chapel (18-1 overall, 6-0 5A-7), Central (9-8 overall, 3-3 5A-7).

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

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT