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Red Devils Stressing Fundamentals

Mark Pinson, Highlands Today

Avon Park senior Beonca Godfrey 1 has the talent and experience to lead the Red Devils this season.

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By CHRIS HOFFMAN Highlands Today

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 18, 2008

AVON PARK - A pair of free throws that failed to hit their target.

That's what last season came down to for the Avon Park girls basketball team, as two from the charity stripe with 9.9 seconds left rimmed out and ended the Red Devils season with a 47-45 overtime loss to Sarasota Booker in the Class 4A-District 10 semifinals.

"We felt we had the talent to win district last year but the ball just didn't drop for us," Avon Park head coach Paulette Daley said. "Missed free throws and layups were the story of that game."

Avon Park watched an 11-point lead evaporate on a 13-2 run by Booker, which was led by Kay Larkins, who scored seven of her game-high 24 points in the fourth to push the game into overtime.

This season, Daley has stressed the fundamentals and hard work to make sure that games don't come down to free throws if they play smart and together.

"That game shouldn't have come down to free throws or to overtime," Daley said. "We had plenty of chances to pull away from Booker, but we had too many bad passes and let the game slip away.

"We stopped playing our game."

Avon Park will be led by a quartet of seniors that include center Brearnna Tate, forward Daija Barrett and guards Beonca Godfrey and Jam'ee Hawthorne.

Tate will continue to be a force in the paint for the Red Devils, where she averaged 9.2 points and a team-leading 8.3 rebounds per game last season in improving her overall game and becoming more aggressive on the glass.

Barrett average 9.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game last season and says that all the hard work over the summer and in training camp should pay off with more wins for Avon Park this season and the hopes of that allusive district title.

"We've had our chances to bring home the district title, but Sebring stood in our way two years ago and Booker slipped by us last year," Barrett said. "After that loss against Booker, we seem to be more together on the court and our offense is really flowing more naturally. I'm encouraged to see how we'll fair this year against some of the district's top competition."

Godfrey and Hawthorne teamed up to be a potent force in the backcourt, as the duo orchestrated Daley's up-tempo offense.

Godfrey used her quickness to break down opposing defenses and averaged a team-high 13.2 points, 4.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game, while Hawthorne chipped in 7.2 points and 3.2 steals per game to lead the way on defense.

"Jam'ee is extremely quick and she's our shutdown defender that is usually matched up against the other team's best player," Daley said. "She has quick feet and doesn't over pursue to make sure she's in position to make a play."

Sophomore guard Markida Hawthorne at times was unstoppable at the point for the Red Devils last season and her continued improvement should give Daley a powerful weapon off the bench.

Today, Hawthorne and the rest of the Avon Park squad will get a stiff test to open the season when they travel to face archrival Sebring in an in-school showdown.

Tip-off begins at 1:30 p.m.

The Streaks have consistently been a thorn in the Red Devils side, beating them in the district finals in 2007.

"Sebring is the team we measure ourselves against to see where we stand in the district," Daley said. "It doesn't really matter to me when we play them because it doesn't take any sort of stimulus to get my girls motivated to play the Streaks."

The Red Devils went 2-0 in the Lake Region Preseason Classic last week, beating district foe Hardee 39-10 and trounced Lakeland Christian 44-15, but Daley explains that those games meant nothing when it comes to where they are as a team.

"I liked that we ran our offense well, but we still missed way too many free throws and that's what got us into trouble last season," Daley said. "We'll get a much better gauge of how far we've come when we face Sebring.

"The Streaks are always a tough opponent and we have to come out and match their intensity, especially in front of their home fans. But we're coming ready to play."

Chris Hoffman can be reached at 863-386-5837 or choffman@highlandstoday.com

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