Local Sports
Green Dragons roll past AP
Allen Moody | Highlands Today
Published: January 20, 2013
AVON PARK - The Lake Placid Green Dragons remembered all-too-well what happened the last time they visited the Avon Park gym. They made sure a repeat performance didn't take place, pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 51-37 Class 4A-District 10 victory.Published: January 20, 2013
The victory also gave the Green Dragons a perfect 8-0 record in district play, as they played in Avon Park for the first time since losing last year's district championship game.
"I told them in the locker room not to forget the last time we were in this gym," said Lake Placid coach Jackie Coyne. "We had two motives, beat them on their home court and go undefeated, so it was a great win both ways. They fought hard. It was a battle."
The Green Dragons raced from the gate in a hurry, scoring 22 first-quarter points. The Red Devils did their best to keep up, scoring 16 of their own, as Lake Placid led by six entering the second quarter.
The scoring slowed down dramatically in the second quarter, as neither team could get untracked. After the Green Dragons took an eight-point lead on a basket by Shaquavia Gayle, the Red Devils cut the gap back to four on a pair of Connie Dewberry free throws and a basket by Tay Perry.
After Lake Placid's Alex Coyne and Perry exchanged baskets, a Raveen Gobourne free throw and a Coyne 3-pointer gave the Green Dragons a 30-22 halftime advantage.
The Red Devils stayed within striking distance through the third quarter, only to see Lake Placid score the final four points of the period to take a 39-29 lead after three.
The Green Dragons put the game out of reach at the start of the fourth quarter, scoring the first 10 points on a pair of baskets by Gobourne and Coyne, along with a field goal by Gayle.
"They hung in there, but I think we eventually wore them out and basically to win, we have to play fast," Coach Coyne said. "We did what we needed to and came out in the second half and did a much better job rebounding in the second half."
The Red Devils scored the final six points of the game to make the final score more respectable.
"We knew what to expect with Lake Placid," said Avon Park coach Paulette Daley. "We definitely had a lot of missed assignments. That's something we have to get in the gym and correct to get ready for districts."
Daley said her team was over-reacting in their man-to-man defense, which is something else that needed to shored up before the start of the district tournament, but when they play the way they are capable of, they can play with anybody.
"We have the tools, we just need to connect them," she said.
Perry led the Red Devils with 14 points, while Toryana Jones scored nine and Otisha Smith scored six. Kayla Wilson and Connie Dewberry had four each.
Coyne scored 28 points to lead the Green Dragons, with Gayle adding eight and Gobourne scoring seven.
Both teams have non-district action on tap, as the Green Dragons host Riverdale on Tuesday and the Red Devils host Fort Meade.
The Avon Park boys team also finished the district season with an 8-0 record, defeating the Green Dragons 60-41 in Lake Placid on Friday night.
amoody@highlandstoday.com (863) 386-5841