Late 3-Pointer Lifts Sebring Past LaBelle

Despite an off-shooting night and some opening game jitters, Sebring's Chelsea Davis buried a 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining to give the Blue Streaks a 49-46 win over LaBelle in the first round of the Tip-Off Classic on Tuesday night.

After tying the game at 46 on a basket by Whitney Lee, Sebring got the ball back and called a time out with 54 seconds remaining.

The Blue Streaks calmly ran time off the clock before Davis nailed the game-winner.

"That's not quite how we drew it up, but the result was what we wanted," Sebring first-year coach Mike Lee said. "LaBelle is a good team with a lot of quickness, and I thought we played with a lot of hustle and effort."

Both teams came out a little sluggish to start the game, and Blue Streak forward Hannah Shoop, who had a game-high 14 rebounds, dominated the paint against the smaller Cowboys.

Emmanice McCullors, who finished with 10 points, scored from the baseline to put Sebring up 10-8 heading into the second period.

The Blue Streaks, who have a nice blend of speed, quickness and height, utilized their full-court press to force LaBelle into numerous turnovers to open the second quarter.

Lee, who had a team-high 13 points, connected on back-to-back 3-pointers from the top of the key to give Sebring a 22-16 lead with 3:01 remaining in the half.

LaBelle clawed back behind a layup by Kaylynn Cash and pair of baskets by Chelsey Ramos, who had a game-high 23 points, to narrow its deficit.

Lee answered with another 3-pointer from the right wing to give the Blue Streaks a 27-24 lead at the half.

Sebring made a concerted effort to get the ball inside to open the second half, and Shoop, a 5-foot-11 junior, scored eight of her 11 points, as the Blue Streaks took a 35-30 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

Sebring went on a 7-3 run to open up a nine-point lead with 5:11 remaining.

LaBelle refused to quit, and Ramos scored eight consecutive points to fuel a 12-2 run to give the Cowboys a 46-44 lead with under two minutes to play.

That set the stage for the late-game heroics by Davis.

Lee, who coached the girls junior varsity for two years before taking over for veteran coach Robert Sampson this year, sees a lot of potential in his squad.

"This is a good group of girls, he said. "They have a lot of ability, work hard and we're looking forward to the season."

Sebring will take on Cocoa in the finals of the Tip-Off Classic at 7:30 tonight.

Hardee, which lost to Cocoa on Tuesday night, faces LaBelle in tonight's first game at 6.