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| PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BRIDGES FAMILY Leesburg High School point guard Baylie Bridges (seated, center) signs a National Letter of Intent with the University of West Florida during a ceremony Thursday in the school auditorium. Seated with Bridges (from left) are: sister, Carsen, father, Bayne, sister, Porter, and mother, Angie. Standing are (from left) Leesburg girls basketball coach Mark Oates and athletic director Chris Engle. |
FRANK JOLLEY | Staff Writer
frankjolley@dailycommercial.com
Baylie Bridges is college bound!
Before she heads out of town, she's got a little more work left to accomplish.
A point guard on the Leesburg High School girls basketball team, Bridges signed a national letter of intent with the University of West Florida in Pensacola on Thursday during a ceremony in the school auditorium. The senior then headed off to get herself ready for an evening game against Apopka on the final night of the Lady Jackets Preseason Classic.
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| Lady Jackets standout Baylie Bridges will play her home games next season in the University of West Florida FieldHouse |
Bridges has been a four-year starter for the Yellow Jackets, having replaced All-State standout Pearl Johnson. During her tenure at Leesburg, Bridges has endured countless comparisons to Johnson -- who is considered one of the top players ever to wear a Yellow Jackets uniform.
During her career at Leesburg, Johnson helped the Yellow Jackets to two state Final Four appearances.
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Leesburg's Baylie Bridges drives to the basket during second quarter action of a Class 4A girls basketball semifinal against Lakewood at the Lakeland Center in Lakeland, Fla. on Friday, February 25, 2011.
(JOSHUA C. CRUEY, ORLANDO SENTINEL) |
With her senior year still ahead of her, Bridges has helped drive Leesburg to one Final Four.
Bridges was the leading scorer on last year's 23-7 team. She averaged 13.6 points per game and 2.4 assists per outing.
She enters Tuesday's season opener against Ocala Lake Weir needing only six points to reach 1,000 for her career. Bridges is fifth on the team's scoring list.
Tenia Manuel, fourth on the list with 1,117 points, expects to be passed by Bridges early in the season.
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( JOSHUA C. CRUEY, ORLANDO SENTINEL / December 12, 2010 ) Baylie Bridges of Leesburg at the Varsity Girls Basketball Media Day at Edgewater High on Sunday, December 12, 2010 in Orlando, Fla. |
"Well she will definitely pass Tenia Manuel on the scoring list," Manuel said Thursday. "Good job Ms. Bridges!"
Sharece Taft is second on the all-time list with 1,283 points. Johnson, however, is first with 1,413 points.
Bridges is third on the assists list with 240, trailing Angie Felton (310 assists) and Johnson (505). In addition, she is ninth in steals with 187 and is 11th in blocked shots with 12.
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| University of West Florida Womens Basketball Head Coach Shannan Bergen |
Based in Pensacola, the University of West Florida competes in the NCAA's Division II as a member of the Gulf South Conference. The Argos are coming off an 11-15 campaign and are coached by Shannan Bergen, who has held the post for 12 years.
Bergen has an overall record of 173-155 during her time at West Florida and is a two-time Gulf South Conference East Division coach of the year.
In Thursday's first game of the Lady Jackets Preseason Classic, New Port Richey Mitchell beat Merritt Island 43-32.
Leesburg opens its regular season at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday with a home game against Ocala Lake Weir.
Boys Soccer
Rain Barnett and Shane Thompson scored goals for Lake Minneola Thursday to lead the Hawks past East Ridge 2-0 in a Class 4A-District 6 contest.
Lake Minneola stopped 15 shots.
The Hawks (2-1 overall and 1-0 in Class 4A-6) will host Leesburg at 7 p.m. Monday.
Girls Soccer
Leesburg got four goals from Angel Rome on Thursday in a 6-2 win against East Ridge.
Chelsea Mudd scored two goals and had two assists for the Yellow Jackets.
Sydney Williams and Hannah Jordan contributed assists for Leesburg.
Leesburg had 21 shots on goal, while East Ridge was limited to eight.
The Yellow Jackets (2-0 overall) will host Brooksville Hernando at 7:30 p.m on Tuesday at H.O. Dabney Stadium.
Eustis 7, WG West Orange 0
Brooke Smith scored five goals to lift Eustis to a 7-0 shutout against Winter Garden West Orange.
Lauren Smith added one goal and three assists for the Panthers.
Jerisa Esquivel scored one goal, and Alika Keene had one assist.
Hannah Wilson stopped three shots in goal for Eustis.
The Panthers improved to 4-0 with the win.
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FRANK JOLLEY
Staff Writer
Daily Commercial
www.dailycommercial.com
frankjolley@dailycommercial.com
Article provided by:
Gerald Lacey
Staff Writer
Carver Heights Quarterback Club
1986 Varsity Jackets Football Lettermen #82
Class of 1988 Leesburg High School
Gerald is a professional Internet marketer and social media marketing expert. His online business ventures and websites generate multiple streams of income annually. His consulting clients include best selling authors and international speakers.
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