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Improbable Streak Rolls On

Chris Hoffman/Highlands Today

Sebring's Hannah Shoop stops on a dime to avoid DeSoto's press during Friday's Class 4A-District 10 semifinal game at APHS.

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By CHRIS HOFFMAN

Highlands Today

Published: February 8, 2009

AVON PARK - Mike Lee put his hands up in the air and smiled while the No. 6-seeded Sebring girls basketball team celebrated yet again after sidestepping DeSoto with a 49-39 victory in the semifinals of the Class 4A-Distrcit 10 tournament on Friday night.

The Blue Streak head coach has weathered a very trying regular season that saw his team win just two district games all year, but his girls are now just one game away from being crowned district champions yet again.

"I'm really proud of these girls," Lee said. "I can't stress that enough. They've worked so hard and they could've cashed it in a long time ago, but they've kept fighting."

Before every game during their tournament run, Lee has given each player a motivational card that is supposed to empower and inspire.

In his pocket, Lee pulled out the motivational card that was given in the locker room before their game against DeSoto.

Trust ... Caring ... Communication ... Collective Responsibility ...Pride

Those words were the right motivation for the Streaks, who pelted the Bulldogs on the inside with Shannon Williams scoring 10 of her game-high 18 points in the first half as Sebring bolted out to an 18-10 first-quarter lead in a game they never trailed.

"These cards are to symbolize the team and attributes I feel we need to be an effective team on and off the court," Lee said.

Williams also led the team with 12 rebounds, while senior Hannah Shoop chipped in eight points and 11 boards on the night.

The Streaks were able to bulk their lead up to 36-21 midway through the third on the inside play of Williams, who scored six of Sebring's eight points in the quarter, but DeSoto's Anreka Bristol sank a 3-pointer and a jumper at the buzzer to cut the lead to 10 points.

"DeSoto has some really great athletes and they kept pressuring us in the second half that knocked us out of our rhythm, "said Lee. "But the girls continued to follow the formula by playing hard defense and getting quality shots."

The Bulldog press gave Lee some worries in the final stanza as four turnovers turned into six points that helped DeSoto cut the lead down to 43-38 with 1:28 left in the game and forced Sebring to call timeout.

"I just wanted to get the girls calmed down after DeSoto made that run in the fourth," said the Sebring skipper. "I told them to protect the ball and make their free throws."

Sebring took the advice and hit six-of-eight shots from the charity stripe to hold on for the victory.

With the win, the Streaks now face No. 1 seed Sarasota Booker in a rematch of last year's championship final, in which the Tornadoes won 39-37 in overtime, but Sebring has ensured that they'll play in the regionals next week.

"We're real familiar with the way Booker plays and we have to pretty much put the same pressure that we've been successful with in the tournament," said Lee. "We're going to have to stay focused and hopefully limit our turnovers and make them work for every point they get."

The fierce play of Tangie McCullors, who nearly walked away with a triple-double, finishing with six points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists while running the Blue Streak offense to near perfection, was a huge piece to Sebring's tournament run and showed her value and leadership against the Bulldogs.

"I knew we could play better than we did against Braden River and I wanted to come out and set the tone for the team on both ends of the court," said McCullors. "The main goal of our offense is to get the ball into the middle for some easy shots.

"It just feels great to be one win away from a championship. This time, nobody expects us to win and I think they're surprised to find out that we want it more than anyone."

"We rode Tangie the whole game," said Lee. "She's key to our offense running and she's also a real hard match-up for the opposing guards. Her size, strength and speed make her hard to guard."

McCullors' crisp passes and quick hands on defense set the Streaks up for easy baskets in transition that helped Sebring build a 28-15 half time lead, as the Blue Streak point guard had three steals in the second quarter that were converted into points.

Zykeria Dawkins finished with eight points and Maxime Copley chipped in with six points in the victory.

Chris Hoffman can be reached at 863-386-5821 or choffman@highlandstoday.com

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