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Red Devils Run Past Tigers

Avon Park's Ja'mee Hawthorne races up the court following a steal against Palmetto during the Class 4A-District 10 tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Chris Hoffman/Highlands Today

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By CHRIS HOFFMAN

Highlands Today

Published: February 4, 2009

Updated:

AVON PARK - Paulette Daley couldn't hide her anxiety before Avon Park's quarterfinal match against Palmetto on Tuesday, as she was busy doing the team laundry in the bowels of the Devils gym.

"I was real nervous and needed something to get my mind off the game," said the AP head coach. "This has been an unpredictable season, and you never know what can happen in these games."

In retrospect, Daley had no need to worry, as her No. 4-seeded Red Devils used a 31-14 run between the second and third quarters to take a 24-point lead en-route to a 58-26 rout of No. 5 seed Palmetto in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A-District 10 tournament on Tuesday.

Senior point guard Beonca Godfrey led all scorers with 10 points and ran the Avon Park offense to perfection in a balanced scoring attack by the Devils

"We don't rely on any one player for our offense, which makes us a real tough team to stop," Daley said. "I told our team that defense wins games and I think we really showed that we have one of the top defenses in the district."

Avon Park's defense fed the offense, as they converted eight Palmetto turnovers into points during the game changing run.

Devil power forward Brearnna Tate, who finished with eight points, said the key to Avon Park's success against Palmetto was the home crowd.

"It's good to be on our home floor and playing so well," said Tate. "Our fans were behind us and we didn't want to come out and disappoint them.

"I'm really proud that the girls came out and played there hardest and we did what we had to do to advance in the tournament."

Avon Park now advances to face top-seeded and defending district champion Booker in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday night.

Booker swept Avon Park in both meetings this year, with the last clash ending in a 42-35 loss in overtime.

"I thought that was a very manageable game that could've gone to either team," Daley said. "Both games have been close and I feel we match-up really well against them. It's going to be a challenge, but we'll have our home crowd with us and that can make a huge difference in a close game."

Avon Park will probably utilize some of the same strategies that worked so well against Palmetto.

The Red Devils press forced countless turnovers or pressured the Tigers into bad shots.

Back-to-back steals by Godfrey led to easy baskets for her and Tate that sparked the Avon Park run and helped build a 14-point lead at halftime and a commanding 43-19 lead after three.

"We're just taking it game-by-game right now," said AP senior Daija Barrett. "Coach told us that it was 0-0 at halftime and that really gave us the motivation to not rest on the lead and really put the game out of reach."

Avon Park is not trying to look past No. 1 seed Booker, but the thought crossed their minds of finals match-up against archrival Sebring.

"I know that would be sweet," said Tate. "We're trying to keep the finals local, so we have to come out and take care of business against Booker and hope that Sebring beats DeSoto.

"But one thing we can't do is overlook Booker. They're a very difficult match-up for us and we're going to have to be very aggressive and play our style of game and press them the whole way."

Avon Park's Markida Hawthorne and freshman Brekayla English each scored eight points, while Palmetto was paced by junior Lawanna Peterson with seven points and Blair Thomas with six points for the Tigers.

4A-D10 SEMIFINALS

Avon Park vs. Booker

FRIDAY at 7:30 p.m.

The Highlands Today sports department can be reached at 863-386-5841 or sports@highlandstoday.com.

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