Local Sports

Green Dragons stun Jaguars

Photos

Mark Pinson | Highlands Today
Published: February 9, 2013

LAKE PLACID - Lake Placid senior point guard Alex Coyne scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Green Dragons to a stunning upset of Academy of the Holy Names by a score of 51-37 in the Class 4A-Region 3 quarterfinals on Thursday night.

Lake Placid, which improved to 19-5 on the season, trailed by four points at halftime, but rallied to knock off the Jaguars (15-11) in convincing fashion. The Green Dragons play in the regional semifinals on Tuesday against Tampa Catholic.

"It was a great team effort and we played awesome defense," said second-year Lake Placid girls basketball coach Jackie Coyne. "We made some adjustments against the pick-and-roll they were using and we stepped up our defensive pressure in the second half.

"We couldn't have done this without the support from the community because they made a difference and we really appreciate them being behind us."

Academy of the Holy Names started the game out strong as Brianna Wharton scored six of her team-high 13 points and Victoria Martinez added five of her nine to give the Jaguars a 14-9 lead heading into the second quarter.

Lake Placid struggled shooting from the floor in the first half and missed a number of lay-ups, but Alex Coyne kept the Green Dragons close by scoring eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, to leave them trailing 22-18 at the half.

"We were fortunate to be down by only four points at halftime," Coach Coyne said. "We didn't shoot well and missed a lot of lay-ups, but the girls were playing with a lot of effort and intensity and we just had to stay with it."

Lake Placid turned up the pressure with its man-to-man defense and also utilized a full-court press in the third quarter, which forced the Jaguars into numerous turnovers.

Back-to-back steals and baskets by Bria Wilson and Alex Coyne tied the game, and Wilson, who netted 10 points, scored in the paint to give the Green Dragons a 29-27 lead with 2:24 remaining in the third period much to the delight of the raucous fans.

Lake Placid continued to force an up-tempo game and stretched its lead to 36-27 heading into the final eight minutes.

Academy of the Holy Names battled back behind the outside shooting of Caroline Kimbler to pull within nine points with 2:15 remaining to play.

The Green Dragons answered as Breauna Corley converted a 3-point play and Alex Coyne made four free throws to make it a double-digit lead.

Lake Placid worked the clock on each possession and fans stormed the court as time ran out on the Green Dragons victory.

"This was a total team effort," said Coach Coyne. "It was great to hear the crowd roaring and it really gave our girls a lift and it helped to motivate them to play even harder."

Lake Placid will host Tampa Catholic on Tuesday in a regional semifinal. The Crusaders, the District 9 champions, defeated DeSoto by a score of 60-54 on Thursday.

This is the farthest a Highlands County girls basketball team has advanced in the state playoffs in a number of years.

"The credit goes to the girls because they bought into what we're trying to accomplish," said Coach Coyne. "We're going to enjoy this win and then we have to get ready for another game, but we get to play at home in front of our fans."

mpinson@highlandstoday.com (863) 386-5837