Yellow Jackets win again
January 20, 2008|By Shannon J. Owens, Sentinel Staff Writer
WINTER HAVEN -- Some basketball teams don't win with finesse and ease, but rather heart and muscle.
That
was the case for Leesburg's girls basketball team as it overcame a
listless first half to knock off Father Lopez 64-58 in the Martin Luther
King Jr. Holiday Shootout at Winter Haven on Saturday.
The Yellow Jackets (22-1) are on a nine-game winning streak,
undefeated against Florida basketball teams and snapped a six-game win
streak for The Green Wave (17-4), ranked No. 1 in Class 2A.
"The kids have a good record. They need little things like this to shake them up," said Leesburg Coach Mark Oates.
Oates called his team's first half performance the "laziest he'd seen in his 18 years of coaching."
But
Father Lopez's star freshman guard Cassie Peoples had a major hand in
her team's 33-26 halftime lead. Peoples, who led both teams with 29
points, knocked in three treys and went 6 of 8 from the free throw line.
Father Lopez stayed one step ahead until Leesburg picked up steam on a few Pearl Johnson drives and dishes inside the paint.
The
Yellow Jackets got their first significant lead, 60-54, in the fourth
quarter on two Keyoshia Wright free throws from a Peoples foul.
Trailing
in near double figures with less than two minutes in the game, Father
Lopez missed five three pointers on their final seven possessions.
"We showed we can play with anybody," said Father Lopez Coach Brad Ridenour. "We just gotta finish."
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Shannon Owens
Sentinel Staff
Orlando SentinelSentinel Staff
www.orlandosentinel.com
January 20, 2008
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