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News-Sun photo by DAN HOEHNE This battle under the boards between, from left, Imani Tate, K'unshe Wilson, Jamacia Gayle and Johntavia Perry, was but one example of the intensity with which Friday's district title game was played.

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published: Sunday, February 05, 2012

Lady Devils, District Champs

By DAN HOEHNE

daniel.hoehne@newssun.com

AVON PARK - The stands were packed, the energy was high and the intensity palpable as the Lady Devils and Green Dragons squared off in Friday's District 10-4A tournament championship.

And it was the intensity provided by the Avon Park defense, along with perhaps a little bit of nerves, that helped the ladies in red claim the district crown with a 54-36 win over new rival Lake Placid.

Not a new rival, in the literal sense, as the county competitors have been familiar foes over the years.

But it was this season, for the first time in a long time, that the Lady Dragons had joined the battle - forcing a narrow two-point Devil win in December before knocking them for a loop in a 24-point win in January.

But with that loss still a recent memory, Avon Park came out with a heightened energy and a more focused plan.

"We came out determined to defend our home court," head coach Paulette Daley said. "We made some changes defensively and the girls were really focused."

Stalwart senior guard Brekayla English got the ball rolling with a drive to start the scoring, with Johntavia Perry soon adding a pair of free throws surrounding a K'unshe Wilson score for Lake Placid for a 4-2 Lady Devil lead.

Standout junior Alex Coyne would even it up on a drive from the left, but Connie Dewberry rattled in a three to put Avon Park back on top.

The Dragons, however, would put together a run, with a Coyne steal and score and two inside buckets from Jamacia Gayle, while the Devils would muster just one English free throw for a 10-8 Lake Placid lead after one.

The back-and-forth battle continued into the second period, with each side of the gym erupting with each teams score.

Toryana Jones rained in a three to start the quarter, with another English free throw making it a 12-10 Avon Park lead.

But the Dragons got it back with an Arnetia Gobourne score, off a dish from Coyne, and a Gayle put-back.

At this point, however, the Devil defense would tighten the screws, intensifying their box-and-one to limit Coynes opportunities and limiting Lake Placid to plenty of forced shots that were missing badly.

This helped a run that saw Avon Park roll off the next 15 points.

Jones drained another three and Perry worked inside for two scores.

Kayla Wilson put back an offensive rebound, English drove the lane for two and Jones capped the run with a fast break lay-up that had the lead at a now commanding 27-14.

Coyne would answer with a buzzer-beating three pointer, to cut the lead to an even 10 at the half.

Lake Placid head coach Jackie Coyne had mentioned after Tuesday's win over DeSoto that her squad was a second-half team, and that a deficit at the break was almost a bonus.

But that 10-point hole was a deep one and was made even deeper with six straight Lady Devil points began the third.

Perry followed her own missed jumper and put it in, English drove for two and Imani Tate muscled one in underneath.

Coyne the canned a trey and K'unshe Wilson stopped-and-popped a short jumper on the break to breath a little life into the Dragons.

English answered with a three-pointer of her own, however, but Coyne was starting to heat up.

A floater and two more three pointers got the visiting crowd going with visions of a comeback.

But the Devils mixed in a Jones drive, inside scores from English and Perry, and a free throw from Dewberry to hold off any runs and push the lead back to 43-30 heading into the final eight minutes.

Having given the home crowd a sense of both relief and excitement at what was seeming like the inevitable, Avon Park held on in a somewhat sloppy fourth.

With both teams in the bonus, free throw chances were at a premium, though neither team took much advantage, with Lake Placid going 4-of-9 in the fourth and the Devils hitting 3-of-8.

But, though Coyne would score on a nice drive to cap off her game-high 22 points, the Lad Devils would get an English drive and inside scores from Perry and Tate in the waning moments that soon lead to celebration and added another title for the City of Champions.

"Wow," was the first word for a while from a drained Daley afterward. "I've been trying every year for this. I've been here five years and this is my first district championship. We've had our ups and downs all year, but these girls really responded tonight."

And though the competition was fierce, Daley had nothing but praise for the heights Lake Placid reached this season.

"(Coach Coyne) has done a remarkable job there, she has turned that program around," she said. "For us, I was digging to find the last district championship we won and had a really hard time. So we told the girls that this was their chance to do something that hasn't been done in years."

Which they did with a balanced scoring effort that saw three in double figures.

English lead the way with 16, followed closely by Jones' 13 and Perry's 12.

Outside the other locker room, coach Coyne accepted her teams' fate.

"You'll have nights like this," she said. "We had an off night and they played a great game. It wasn't a matter of effort, the girls played their hearts out, but it was a game where the ball just wasn't going in the basket. (Coach Daley) made some great adjustments and I give them a lot of credit. It was a great match-up, but we will just take a day off and make a new goal, which is regionals."

With both teams qualifying for the state playoffs by reaching the district title game, Avon Park will host District 9-4A runner up, Academy of the Holy Names, Thursday at 7 p.m.

Lake Placid will head to Tampa to face the Lady Crusaders Thursday.

Tampa Catholic trailed the Jaguars at the half Friday night, but rode a 27-point third quarter to a 62-45 win.