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The Eagles struggle to score in the second half against Largo. The Packers will face Wharton in Friday's semifinals.
By EMILY NIPPS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 3, 2002
TAMPA -- After struggling to keep up during most of the first half, Largo finally came up with a game plan to beat Brandon 49-40 in the first round of the Leto Holiday Classic on Wednesday.
After surveying the Eagles' strengths during the first 20 minutes, Largo coach Leonard Williams ordered up a simple solution: A box-and-one defense designed to take Eagles point guard Kiana Robinson out of the game.
The junior, who is one of Hillsborough County's best players, still managed a game-high 21 points. But it wasn't enough as the Packers (11-1) tapered off the Eagles' scoring in the second half and kept a small but persistent lead until the final buzzer.
"The box-and-one changed the whole game around for us," said Largo coach Leonard Williams, whose team played to a 21-21 tie at halftime. "The girls came out and played hard-nosed defense ... all five starters had a good game tonight."
Jessica Richert (11 points, six rebounds) had the best start for Largo, buoying the Packers with three 3-pointers in the first half. Monica Adams led Largo with 16 points, most from breakaway layups, and Monique Henson (11 points, nine rebounds) had the biggest impact on defense.
Ebani Williams, Brandon's second-leading scorer, picked up four fouls in the first half -- three in the first quarter -- forcing Brandon coach Joe Brown to take her out of the game for most of the second half.
"That made it really hard on us," Brown said.
"We've got to have our top two players to stay ahead in the game."
Williams and Rosanna Davis each scored five points.
The Packers, whose only loss this season was to Clearwater, will advance to play Wharton in Friday's semifinals. Brandon will play East Bay in the consolation bracket.
Wharton, last year's Leto Holiday Classic runner-up, defeated East Bay 48-32 in the first game of the tournament.
The Indians did a solid job defending the Wildcats' top player, Candice Dupree, but couldn't match Wharton's depth and speed.
Whitney Burton led the Wildcats with 19 points, and Dupree scored 13.
Forward Robin Rimes led East Bay with 13 points.