TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

Balanced Offense Paces AP Past DeSoto

Mark Pinson/Highlands Today

Avon Park’s Beonca Godfrey looks for a shot against DeSoto’s Alli Harris during the second half of Friday night’s district game.

ADVERTISEMENT

By Mark  Pinson | Highlands Today

Published: January 20, 2008

AVON PARK — For one of the few times this season, the Avon Park girls basketball team got off to a good start in Friday night's Class 4A-District 10 game against DeSoto.

That spelled trouble for the visiting Bulldogs, as freshman point guard Markida Hawthorne scored a team-high 17 points to lead the Red Devils to a 63-47 win.

"This was a good win for us," said Hawthorne, who also had five steals. "We kept our composure and didn't turn the ball over.

"We jumped on DeSoto early, kept the pressure on and never let up, and this is the way we need to play all the time."

Beonca Godfrey added 14 points and junior Brearana Tate chipped in with 11 to help Avon Park improve to 15-6 overall and 8-4 in district play.

"We played pretty well," said Red Devil coach Paulette Daley. "We were prepared because DeSoto beat Sebring and that's something we haven't been able to do.

"We rebounded well, executed our offense and it was great to see three girls in double figures."

Avon Park started the game quickly as Godfrey scored six of her 14 points and Tate — who also pulled down eight rebounds — added six points as the Red Devils opened up a 16-8 lead after the first eight minutes.

DeSoto, which was led by Morrisa Davis' game-high 20 points, closed to within 20-15 on a Davis 3-point play midway through the period.

Avon Park went to its full-court press, which paid quick dividends, by forcing back-to-back Bulldog turnovers, which were converted into easy baskets.

Lyvatrius Godfrey, who hauled in nine rebounds, scored six of her eight points in the paint, and Hawthorne buried a 3-pointer to give the Red Devils a 29-18 halftime lead.

"Lyvatrius is really coming on strong," said Daley. "She has good size, has really improved and we've been able to count on her more and more."

Hawthorne came out on fire and nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key and scored on a layup to give Avon Park a commanding 16-point advantage.

"We executed our man-to-man offense much better in the second half and got some good looks at the basket," Daley said. "DeSoto was alternating their defense in the first half and that kind of shook us up, but we made some adjustments at the half, kept our focus and put some points on the board."

DeSoto, which dropped to 9-15, 3-8, roared back, as Davis scored six points and Felencia Hatcher scored all seven of her points to pull the Bulldogs within 42-38 heading into the final eight minutes.

Hawthorne made sure there would be no comeback, as the 5-foot-5 dynamo connected for a 3-pointer and then scored on a drive to the basket to open up a nine-point cushion.

Avon Park went back to its full-court pressure and forced several Bulldog turnovers which were turned into easy baskets.

With the double-digit lead, the Red Devils went to a slow-down offense, ran time off the clock with each possession and cruised to the easy victory.

"We're playing better because we're communicating and playing as a team," said Tate. "We're more relaxed and that allows us to play our best.

"We're winning and having fun and we need to keep doing that the rest of the season."

Avon Park has two non-district games remaining before the District 10 tournament begins in Sarasota.

The Red Devils play at Pendleton Academy on Tuesday and then travel to Okeechobee on Friday night.

"I wanted to play some good competition before the district tournament," said Daley. "We want to stay sharp and be ready to play our best in the tournament because we have the ability to contend for the title if we execute, stay focused and believe in ourselves."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT