Lady Eagles Clip Seahawks, 56-43

WESLEY CHAPEL - Led by Sasha Spalding's 19 points, No. 8 seed Springstead eliminated the No. 9 seed Sunlake Seahawks Monday night in Class 4A, District 8 Tournament action at Wiregrass Ranch, 56-43.

Spalding finished the night with six rebounds and five steals and teammate Jenna Donahue netted 13, getting four rebounds and four steals.

It was a team effort with nine girls finding the scoring column, forcing 37 turnovers, including 23 steals. The Lady Eagles (4-21) had a little trouble themselves though, committing 24 turnovers.

Applying pressure

The first quarter began with Springstead applying a full-court, 1-2-2 press, creating all kinds of problems for the (0-23) Sunlake Seahawks.

Two minutes into the first quarter, senior point guard Ro Lariosa hit freshman center Spalding breaking for the hoop, getting Springstead on the board for an early 2-0 lead.

At the 2:33 point of the first quarter, Donahue scored from the outside, making the score 15-5, and 15-7 at the end of the quarter.

The second quarter was pretty much even, with Springstead outscoring Sunlake by only one.

With 3:35 left in the half, Spalding proved she can be an all-around player and found Donahue setting up at the three-point arc, passing to her and watching her hit a three, making the score at the half 30-21 Eagles.

The second half started off with Sunlake making a run and keeping Springstead in a funk.

At the 4:45 mark, the Lady Eagles had been outscored 6-0 and the Seahawks had cut the lead to 30-27, and Eagle coach, Todd Toomer, called a time-out.

Springstead's first points of the second half came from sophomore guard Jackie White when she nailed her only bucket of the night, at the perfect time, to slow down a suddenly aggressive Seahawk quintet.

With 2:17 left in the third and Sunlake within striking range, Jennifer Knoer hit her only basket, starting a run that would allow the Eagles to relax a bit and slowly pull away, effectively fighting off a young, but determined Seahawk team.

Sunlake's sophomore point guard, Lindsey Robinson, was a handful, leading the Seahawks with 17 points, joined by junior teammate Chantal Vasquez with 13 points respectively.

Fouls took their toll on the ranks of the Seahawks when early in the fourth quarter, junior Jessica Banks fouled out and she was joined shortly after by Heather Mort. That effectively took away Sunlake's presence underneath and the Lady Eagles took advantage.

With 6:07 left, senior Lynsay Riddle hit one of her two three-pointers on the night, and Bryer Zavitz followed with a two-pointer, extending the lead, 49-35.

With all the foul trouble Sunlake found itself in, and terribly out-manned, Springstead spent much of the remaining game on the free throw line, converting 7-of-18 on the night.

With no seniors on the team, Sunlake's first-year coach Bob Kamps has a lot to look forward to next year.

"This is the most points we've scored all year," commented Kamps. "Our girls have been playing all year with a lot of heart. This is one of the best games we've played. We have a long way to go, but we'll get there."

"We started off with a 1-2-2 press and they seem to like it a lot," countered Coach Toomer. "This was a good team win tonight, and I'm so proud of them. Sunlake is a well-coached team. I've got so much respect for Coach Kamps. They were all over the floor, but we kept our composure. You can't let down in this district. It doesn't matter who we play. Now we're experienced. I love it."