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Highlanders Steal One From Devils

Chris Hoffman/Highlands Today

Avon Park's Daija Barrett led the Red Devils with 10 points and six rebounds against Lake Wales on Tuesday.

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By CHRIS HOFFMAN

Highlands Today

Published: January 8, 2009

AVON PARK - Beonca Godfrey could do nothing but shake her head as she watched Lake Wales' Lucky Tensley intercept an Avon Park pass and hoist up a 3-pointer in the waning moments of Tuesday's game.

Tensley's long-range bomb dashed the Red Devils' hope of a win as the Highlanders scored the game's final seven points to steal a 50-46 victory in the non-district match-up.

"We had our moments where everything was working, but we lost our heads down the stretch," Godfrey said. "Lake Wales was a good team but I knew we had a chance to win this game.

"This was a tough one to lose."

Avon Park (7-7) fought back from 10-point, third quarter deficit on the strength of a 15-2 run that gave the Red Devils a four-point lead heading into the fourth.

But Lake Wales (17-1) showed why they're one of the top teams in the region by using a stifling defense that harassed Avon Park at every turn, forcing 38 turnovers and turning many of them into easy baskets to score the quarter's first and last seven points for the victory.

Avon Park head coach Paulette Daley couldn't hide her frustration after the game, as she put the onus on the decision making of her team.

"I'm really disappointed in how this team played at the end of the game," Daley said. "Bad passes and poor decisions really cost us tonight. I'm pretty speechless after watching the end of that game."

Tensley's long-range shots in the fourth quarter hurt the Red Devils, as the Lake Wales guard sank a pair of 3-pointers that were decisive in the transfer of momentum back to the Highlanders.

Tensley finished the game with 13 points.

With Lake Wales taking a 43-39 lead after Tensley's first 3-pointer, Avon Park rallied around their free throw shooting, as the Red Devils sank 5 of 6 from the charity stripe to take a three-point lead with less than two minutes to play. But a basket by Quaymeisha Nealy and Tensley's second 3-pointer gave Lake Wales a two-point advantage.

Dribbling down the court and hoping to get a good look at the basket, Godfrey made a pass that was mishandled and Kateisha Wright got a hold of the ball and sprinted down court for an insurance basket with a handful of seconds left to play.

"I really felt for the girls - Lake Wales plays a very physical game but we were up for the challenge," said Avon Park forward Brearnna Tate. "Lake Wales was playing pretty rough tonight and I think it caught us off guard at the beginning, but we hung in there."

Tate was a casualty of the game, as she went down hard after being tangled with a Lake Wales player going for a rebound. The AP senior was down on the court for several minutes and had to be helped off the court with a severely swollen ankle.

Tate's status is day-to-day.

The loss of Tate negated much of the Red Devils inside presence and hurt in the rebounding department, as the Highlanders were able to get plenty of second chance shots from offensive rebounds.

"Losing Bre really hurt us defensively and I think we struggled in finding a way to stop them from scoring down low," Daley said. "Our man-to-man defense really got us back in the game in the third quarter and I thought we were playing some of our best basketball of late during that stretch."

Avon Park center Johnequa Perry tried to fill in the void left by Tate's absence and was key in the Red Devils third quarter run, as she scored all eight of her points in the frame and pulled down seven rebounds.

Daija Barrett led the way with 10 points and six rebounds, while freshman Brekayla English had nine points and Godfrey had eight points in the loss.

A telling tale in the defeat was that Avon Park had just 11 assists in the game, which signaled Lake Wales was forcing turnovers and the pushing the AP guards into playing one-on-one.

"Our ball-handling has to improve if we're going to have any success in the district tournament," Daley said. "Those cross court passes were killing us. Lake Wales was anticipating our passes and that was the difference in the game."

Avon Park is back on the court Friday when they host Clewiston at 7:30 p.m.

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

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