Blue Streaks Cruise Past Country Colts

Led by the potent inside combination of senior forward Hannah Shoop and sophomore forward Shannon Williams, the Sebring girls basketball team routed North Marion by the score of 43-26 in Saturday's first round of the Belleview Christmas Tournament.

Shoop scored a team-high 12 points and pulled down 13 rebounds and Williams added 10 points and 11 boards to keep the Blue Streaks in the winner's bracket.

"Our post players did a great job," said Sebring coach Mike Lee. "Hannah and Shannon give us a real advantage in the paint over most teams and we were able to utilize their talents tonight.

"We played good defense and did a better job of handling the ball."

The Blue Streaks play again today in the second round of the tournament at 4:30 p.m.

"This is a good tournament with a lot of quality teams," said Lee. "We want to play against good competition during the holiday break so that we're prepared for the second half of the season.

"We have come a long way from the first of the season, but we still have plenty of room for improvement."

BOYS BASKETBALL Gulliver Prep 49, Avon Park 43

ORLANDO - Avon Park guard Xavier Caldwell scored a team-high 13 points, but it wasn't enough as Miami Gulliver Prep came-from-behind to beat the Red Devils by a score of 49-43 on Saturday in the first round of the KSA Holiday Classic at Disney's Wide World of Sports.

"We could have done better," said Avon Park coach Luther Clemons. "We had the lead at the half and at the end of the third quarter, but we made some bad decisions and it cost us.

"Our game was supposed to start at eleven, but we didn't get on the court until four and it made for a very long day."

Gulliver Prep is ranked in the top ten in the state in Class 3A and the Red Devils had a chance to knock them off.

"We were a little sluggish at the start of the game, but we changed the lineup a little bit and took the lead," said Clemons. "We just need to stay focused and get ready for our next game."

The Red Devils take on Jackson County, Ky., in today's second round of the tournament at 3:45 p.m.