TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

Devils edge Bloodhounds

File photo by Ryan Lavner

Avon Park's Favinnette Cotte (4) leads a fast break in a recent game against Sebring. The Red Devils held on to beat Auburndale in a non-district game on Monday night.

ADVERTISEMENT

By MARK PINSON

Highlands Today

Published: December 23, 2009

AUBURNDALE - The Avon Park girls basketball team headed into the Christmas break on a positive note by holding off a scrappy Auburndale squad by a score of 34-30 in non-district action on Monday night.

"It was kind of a slow game," said Red Devils coach Paulette Daley. "We struggled with our consistency and we didn't turn things on until the second half.

"It was a good win, but I can tell we really need to get in the gym and get back to work after a few days off."

Avon Park took advantage of its superior athleticism and quickness to take control of the game in the early stages of the contest.

The Red Devils used their potent combination of a bevy of outside sharp-shooters and the inside power game in the paint to take a slim lead into halftime against the smaller Bloodhounds.

"No one person stood out for us," said Daley. "We would play well as a team in stretches and then we'd get sloppy, make bad decisions and play poorly as a team in stretches.

"Auburndale played hard and gave a solid effort, but we need to play with more intensity when we step on the floor."

Avon Park extended its lead in the third quarter behind balanced team scoring.

"I can't pinpoint anybody that was exceptional because all of the girls contributed at some point in the game," Daley said. "We started out in a man-to-man defense, but that wasn't working and we switched to 1-3-1 and 2-3 zones.

"Auburndale hurt us from the wings with some 3-pointers in the first half, but the zones helped us to get out and contest their shots in the second half and that made a big difference in the game."

Auburndale made a run in the final eight minutes, but Avon Park had just enough offense and the Red Devils converted enough free throws to seal the hard-fought victory.

Avon Park is off until after the Christmas break and the Red Devils get into the bulk of their district schedule in January.

"We host McKeel Academy the first week we're back in school," said Daley. "That's a big game because they slapped us in the mouth and beat us bad earlier in the year at their place.

"Our district is very competitive and we've improved a lot since the season begun, but we'll have to execute and play a lot better if we want to beat McKeel and make a run in the postseason."

Mark Pinson can be reached at 863-386-5837 or mpinson@highlandstoday.com

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT