Lady Sharks learn about life on the other side

LARGO - The Nature Coast Technical Lady Sharks are used to games ending under a running clock. They just aren't accustomed to being on the receiving end of the mercy rule.

On Thursday night in the first round of the Indian Rocks Christian School Holiday Tournament, Nature Coast suffered one of the more humbling losses in its history.

Facing St. Pete Catholic, ranked third in Class 3A, minus three players including leading scorer Shareka Maner, the Lady Sharks continued their holiday slump, falling 61-28.

Nature Coast, a team ranked sixth in 4A having won its first 12 games by a combined 29.1 points per game, has now dropped four straight including a trip to Kentucky for the Lexington Catholic Holiday Classic.

During the skid, the Lady Sharks have lost by 16, 21, 28 and now 33. And since the Lady Barons (15-1) opened up a 35-point advantage late in the third quarter, this one finished up with a running clock.

Add in the disciplinary suspensions for this tournament of Maner and top reserve Kaitlin Wadsworth, along with another key player off the bench, guard Jen Marshall, missing the tournament while out of town, and a difficult stretch meant to test Nature Coast has turned into a nightmare.

"It's rough now that we're playing competition at our level or above us," Nature Coast Head Coach Travis Lamle said. "We can't duplicate that in the other 12 games we played. That's why we do these (tournaments). We do these to get better."

Over early

Without Maner, their top post player, the Lady Sharks had no match for Sasha Chaplin, St. Pete Catholic's 6-foot-3 senior bound for Indiana University.

Chaplin scored 17 of her game-high 21 points, going 7-of-9 from the free throw line, along with collecting nine of her 10 rebounds in the first half. She added six blocks overall.

She had seven points in roughly 10 seconds during a sequence in which she scored off an offensive rebound, then off two consecutive steals under the basket, the last one turning into a three-point play.

"Shareka (not playing) is immeasurable," Lamle said. "It affects us especially on the defensive side of the ball. Containing Sasha, she gives us a tremendous athlete to compete with that kind of player.

"...She's (Chaplin) a good player, she really is. We had what we thought were gimme lay-ups and she came out and swatted them. We can't simulate her in practice."

The Lady Barons led 18-0 before Alyssa Joens, Maner's replacement in the starting line-up, hit a jumper with 1:58 left in the opening quarter.

St. Pete Catholic led 36-13 at halftime, and Chaplin's lay-up at 1:38 in the third quarter made it 57-22, invoking the mercy rule.

"We haven't taken too much of a break this Christmas," St. Pete Catholic Head Coach Nick Vandewalle said. "This is the third tournament we've played, so we don't have much after-New Years rust.

"I only knew that (Nature Coast) was a really good team. I just before the game found out that Shareka Maner wasn't playing. I think that had a big impact."

Only Cherikhan Waddy broke into double figures in scoring for the Lady Sharks, tallying 10 points along with five rebounds and four steals.

She came out for a minute in the first quarter because of an ankle injury; a scoreless tie became 9-0 by the time she checked back in.

Joens added six points and five boards in a respectable effort filling in for Maner. April Trezise, forced to match-up with Chaplin, added six points.

Lamle lamented the fact that his team couldn't handle the Lady Barons' aggressive press, tallying only four assists while St. Pete Catholic had 12 steals.

Nature Coast met Tampa Catholic on Friday in the second round of this three-day event. But is the Lady Sharks' confidence as high as it was prior to leaving for Kentucky?

"No, it's not," Lamle said. "It's like I say, we do really well around us. When we get outside of our area, when the competition gets a little a better, we're not used to playing from behind; we're not used to playing a close game.

"But that's why we play these games. Losing now, hopefully we'll learn something from it and hopefully we'll be a better team from it."