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Rams' final hurdle
By JAMAL THALJI, Times Staff Writer LAND O'LAKES -- Ridgewood has so far dominated the Pasco County landscape, turning back every challenge. But tonight, the Rams face the only challengers who could deny them the top seed in the Class 4A, District 8 tourney: the Land O'Lakes Gators. It is the biggest game in the county this season, and there should be no lack of offense. It is a marquee game that will feature five of the top 11 scorers in Pasco County. Ridgewood point guard Crystal Ayers (15.9 ppg), 3-point bomber Joeyn Dearsman (13.9) and small forward Rachel Rauber (12.1) will face Land O'Lakes shooting guard Roshaunda Washington (15.1) and point guard Rachel Rogala (11.8). Ridgewood's man-to-man defense will create some intriguing matchups: Ayers will defend Rogala in a matchup of the county's top point guards, and Rauber will take on Washington. And this time, the Gators (15-3, 9-2 in 4A-8) are determined to put up a better fight than they did in a 76-42 loss to the Rams (15-4, 7-0 in 4A-8) on Dec. 20. "It's a big game," Land O'Lakes coach Greg Robinson said. "We're ready for it." They better be. They'll be facing a Ridgewood team coming off its first two-game losing steak of the season. The Rams ran into a buzzsaw at the Roundball Classic at Sarasota Riverview, losing 78-66 Friday night to Sarasota Riverview, the No. 5-ranked team in Class 6A, and then falling Saturday 65-45 to No. 3-ranked Sarasota. The Rams had several problems against the physical talent of those two teams, but are ready for the final stretch run to the district tourney. "After this last weekend," Rams coach Gary Zimmerman said, "complacency isn't one of those problems." Ironically, it was that loss to Ridgewood that propelled Land O'Lakes to its best stretch of the season, winning five consecutive games after falling to the Rams. "We came off the Ridgewood game and played Mitchell and beat them by 20," Robinson said. "Reviewing the tapes, I'm not going to say anything bad about Ridgewood, because they are a great team, but that wasn't our best game, either." Robinson said his team seemed to fall flat in the fourth quarter against the Rams, but he vowed that wouldn't happen again. Ridgewood will bring a slightly different lineup into this matchup with a new frontcourt that saw its first action Friday. Nina Bonaparte is a 5-foot-8 freshman promoted from the junior varsity and the team's new center. She scored 12 points against Sarasota Riverview and grabbed 11 rebounds against Sarasota. Jamie Surmin is the team's new 5-7 power forward. Zimmerman's team has thrived on its outside shooting, but with the postseason fast approaching, he's looking for more inside scoring. "We just weren't getting the offense and rebounding we were expecting from our post game," he said. "Some of the games that were close shouldn't have been. We decided to take care of it before we get into district play, so they can get some experience playing out there."
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