By DAN HOEHNE
daniel.hoehne@newssun.com
ARCADIA - There wasn't much to worry about heading into Tuesday's semifinal round of the District 10-4A Tournament for the Lake Placid Lady Dragons - as they were facing a Mulberry squad they had outscored by a combined 112-39 during their regular season meetings.
But that was precisely what had their head coach worried.
"I haven't slept in three nights," Jackie Coyne said. "I keep dreaming about games. The thing I really wanted to night was for the girls to come out with good effort and not view it as an easy win. But I was disappointed."
Not that the 62-26 final provided much drama or disappointment, but the effort and intensity were lacking, especially early on.
Oh, they didn't have much trouble scoring, as Bria Wilson was working hard in the paint for eight first-quarter points to help the Dragons out to an 18-8 lead.
But there were plenty of misfires, on shots and passes both, the kept things unnecessarily close.
"We were missing way too many lay-ups and inside shots, which is what happens when the focus isn't there," coach Coyne said.
The coach's daughter, high-scoring senior Alex Coyne, was looking to play the facilitator more in the match-up, but did manage a floater and a three in the first.
Wilson, though, shouldered the scoring load in the second, draining a three of her own and adding five inside scores for a 21-point first half, pushing the Lake Placid lead out to 39-18.
Wilson would add three in the third to boost her game-high total to 24 and the Dragon bench closed out the rout.
"Games like this you want to work on things, but not show too much," coach Coyne said. "We can't be missing the shots we did tonight, or else we'll be in big trouble Friday. Bria really stepped up as a threat tonight, but we're going to need another scorer to step up. We know DeSoto will focus on Alex and they know Bria is a scoring option, so we'll need someone else to step up."
Those Lady Bulldogs of DeSoto made it to Friday's tournament finale, but found themselves in a dogfight with a determined Avon Park squad before breaking away with the 50-30 win.
It looked like the Bulldogs were going to run away with it early, as after a Toryanna Jones steal and drive got the Devils on the board, DeSoto went on a 10-0 run.
But Avon Park clawed their way back with a Connie Dewberry breakaway and two Johntavia Perry jumpers to cut the deficit to 12-9, while remaining close at the end of the first at 19-14.
Jones had a baseline drive early in the second and Dewberry banked in a three later, and the DeSoto lead still stood at just five, 26-21, at the half.
But the Red Devil offense couldn't get on track in the second half, with an 18-2, third-quarter run for the Bulldogs breaking it wide open and signaling the end of Avon Park's season.
"We were down by five at the half but we let it slip away," Dewberry said. "We made a lot of bad passes and a lot of mistakes. This year we had our ups and downs but we still worked together as a team. We're like a family."
Up in Winter Haven, the Lady Blue Streaks weren't able to get past Kathleen in the District 9-6A semifinals Tuesday, falling to the Lady Devils 38-30 in a defensive battle.
The teams had split their season series, with Sebring taking a 55-49 win in early December while Kathleen won a 58-44 contest Jan. 8.
This time around, both squads dug their heels and went at it in a back-and-forth affair that saw the biggest lead by either team at eight points.
But it was the Devils inside game the powered them through, with 23 of their points on the night coming in the paint.
And it was this scenario which spelled the final doom for the Streaks.
Still within relative reach with just over two minutes to play, a missed Kathleen free throw could have given Sebring a chance.
But game-high scorer Christian Strawbridge was able to steal the offensive rebound for the Devils and put it back in for what would amount to the final straw.
"A missed shot here or a missed free throw there, it would have been a different result," Blue Streak head coach Mike Lee was quoted as saying afterward. "I am very proud of the way the girls battled back."
Acadian sportswriter Steve Knapp contributed to this story.
Friday, February 01, 2013 - www.newssun.com/FRI-2-1-13-GirlsHoops