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Tornadoes Twist Early, Topple Red Devils

Chris Hoffman/Highlands Today

Avon Park's Beonca Godfrey (right) can only watch from the bench after fouling out early in the fourth quarter against Booker 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 - Booker continued its dominance over Avon Park on Friday, as guard Kay Larkins and forward Christina Davis worked the inside/out game to perfection and the Devils were trumped for the third time this season by the Tornadoes in a 55-49 loss in the Class 4A-District 10 semifinals.

For the second straight year, Booker ended Avon Park's season.

Last year, the two teams battled into overtime before the defending district champion Tornadoes swept past the Devils in a 47-45 win.

In '09, the game wasn't that close but it was the senior Larkins, who was the conduit for many of Booker's victories during her career, which ignited the press that rattled Avon Park from the onset.

"That first quarter did us in," said Avon Park head coach Paulette Daley. "We knew what to expect and still we couldn't stop them. It's not like we didn't prepare for Booker. We needed to match their intensity and we didn't do that. I mean we had this game on our home court in front of our fans and they immediately took our fans out of the game."

Booker's press forced a plethora of Red Devil turnovers that helped them storm out to a 16-4 lead early, as Davis scored seven points during the run and the Tornadoes finished the quarter with a 22-12 lead - which was more than enough for the defending champs.

Although there were no tears streaming down her face like in '08, but senior Daija Barrett was sullen over how the season ended.

"This isn't how I wanted our season to end, with another loss to Booker," said Barrett, who finished with 12 points. "They did a good job of breaking down our zone and we came out very shaky in that first quarter and that was the difference in the game."
Larkins and Davis account for nearly 55 percent of Booker's offense against Avon Park, as the home team had no answer for the dynamic duo. Larkins used her blistering speed and quick hands to pick the pockets of the AP guards that disrupted the Devils offense enough to never let them get into a rhythm.

Davis finished with 13 points and Larkins had a game-high 17 points, while Letayvia Butler chipped in with eight points as Booker is set for a rematch against Sebring on Saturday night.

Results of the championship game were not available at press time. See Monday's Highlands Today for complete game coverage.
Avon Park looked to be on the comeback trail after scoring the final seven points of the third quarter to cut Booker's lead down to six points, but that's as close as the Devils would get.

Booker used a 10-2 run to open the final period and Avon Park was forced to play catch-up the rest of the way. The Devils, who were without senior point guard Beonca Godfrey after she fouled out early in the fourth, made another stab at redemption by scoring seven unanswered points that included a beautiful steal by Markida Hawthorne who made a pass to a streaking Barrett for the easy layup.

But the Tornadoes were not to be denied on this night, as they're defense tightened and they were able to hold off a game Red Devil team for the win.

Johnequa Perry led the Devils with 15 points and senior forward Brearnna Tate scored 10 points in the loss.

"The bottom line is they wanted it more than we did," said Tate. "It was a question of too little, too late down the stretch for us, but I'm proud of the way the girls never game up. We just dug ourselves too big of a hole in that first quarter.

"We were the team that needed to come out and establish ourselves on defense and build the big lead, but we put up way too many crazy shots and gave the ball away too many times for us to even have a chance at winning this game."

Even though the Devils and the Streaks are rivals on the court, Tate still says that she'll root for Sebring during Saturday's championship game.

"If it's us against them, I'll root for us, but I've got to stand behind the local team and hope they can keep the championship local."

Chris Hoffman can be reached at 863-386-5827 or choffman@highlandstoday.com

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