Devils Put Out Streaks' Fire

Members of the Sebring girls basketball team looked a bit shocked as they exited the locker room to the sounds of cheers.

The contingency of family and friends who traveled to witness the Streaks' Class 4A regional quarterfinal match at Kathleen on Thursday watched the Streaks nearly overcome a 12-point second-half deficit to pull to within three with 3:42 left to play, but Sebring was outscored by the Devils 12-3 down the stretch and their Cinderella run ended in a 39-27 loss in the Class 4A regional quarterfinals at Willie Speed Gymnasium.

"We didn't get a lot of open looks due to Kathleen's defense, but I was really proud that we hung in there and gave it our best shot in that second half," said SHS head coach Mike Lee, who led the Streaks into the regional tournament for the second straight season since taking over the program. "Kathleen was very patient on offense and well-coached and made us earn everything we got tonight."

Kathleen's Daysha McDougal led all scorers with 14 points, including eight in the fourth quarter, and had an answer for every run that Sebring tried to make in the second half to help the Devils keep control of the game.

"The hardest thing for us to do was to break that press tonight," said Sebring's Jerica Moore. "At half time, Coach Lee told us to go out and have some fun. Nobody thought that we'd be here, much less be hanging with one of the best teams in the region."

Sebring ends the season with a 10-15 record, while Kathleen improves to 22-4 and moves on to face Lake Wales, who beat Booker 52-49, in the regional semifinals.

Tears fell from the faces of the team as they made their way to the bus, but still the cheers continued - a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by the Streaks.

"It means a lot when people are behind you no matter what," Moore said. "We came out and did the best we could and came closer than most thought we would."

Before the showdown, Lee had called different coaches to help formulate his game plan against the highly touted Devils.

"I knew Jasmine Singleton was a player to watch and I think we did a good of pressuring her," said Lee. "I used a lot of players in the first half to keep my girls fresh for the second half and also to try and find one with a hot hand."

Kathleen was as physical a team as Sebring faced all year, with bodies diving to the ground for loose balls, and the Streaks were pressured at every turn going toward the basket.

The physical nature of the game forced a low-scoring first half, which saw Kathleen take a 16-8 lead early. The Devils led by just six after three periods, but Sebring snagged some much-needed momentum at the end of the third by scoring six unanswered points to cut the Devils lead in half.

"That run we made before the fourth really gave us some confidence and proved that we had the tools to win," Lee said. "You have to believe you can win before you can go out and do it."

But Kathleen extended its lead to nine points almost immediately in the fourth before Sebring's defense stiffened up and forced some bad shots by the Devils, who looked a bit overconfident.

Sebring senior Hannah Shoop scored six of the Streaks eight points during an 8-2 run that put the Highlands County girls on the doorstep of another upset.

McDougal came out of the timeout with the Devils up just three points and hurried a 15-foot jumper that got the home fans involved and Kathleen wisely used up enough time and hit their free throws down the stretch to hold off the game Sebring squad.

NOTES: Shannon Williams finished with six points and four rebounds; Shoop had six points, nine rebounds and five assists, while Tangie McCullors was heldp to four points, three boards and four assists.