Freshman star English makes surprising return to Gulf
By JAMAL THALJI
Published February 6, 2004
NEW PORT RICHEY - She's back.
Gulf freshman point guard Dominique English has made an improbable comeback from what was thought to be a season-ending strained right meniscus.
In Tuesday's 51-43 victory at Mitchell, English took the floor for the first time in weeks. She had eight points, five assists and four steals.
She had been practicing while wearing a knee brace for six days. Her doctor cleared her to play Tuesday after an exam. Her conditioning is catching up, and if she feels any pain she is to remove herself from the lineup.
But otherwise English is back.
Which is what she wanted.
"She's a very competitive person," coach Mike Quarto said, "and the doctor didn't see any reason to keep her out."
The Buccaneers started 6-2 thanks to a frenetic transition game led by English. Without her, Gulf had to learn to play a radically different game. Sophomore center Tiara Cook became the focus of a halfcourt, slow-it-up, throw-it-inside offense.
"Without Dominique we had to learn to play the halfcourt game and pound it inside," Quarto said. "We made a decision when Dominique went down that we couldn't play the fullcourt game. We needed to pound the ball inside to get other teams in foul trouble and to get ourselves to the foul line."
With English back, the second-seeded Bucs (16-7) have one more transition to make before next week's Class 4A, District 10 tournament. English isn't one for the halfcourt game, though her teammates have learned to excel at it.
So what kind of style will the Bucs play now?
How about both?
"(Dominique) doesn't know how to play any other way but full speed," Quarto said. "So when she gets the ball we're going to look to push it; if not, we've done a good job this year learning to play the halfcourt game."
STEPPING IT UP: Another county star, Ridgewood senior point guard Crystal Ayers, will not return after tearing her right meniscus.
But Ayers and the Rams are dealing with it.
The injury is not as serious as feared, and the San Jose State recruit is expected to return to the court in 21/2 months to prepare for her college career.
Her teammates are learning to play, and win, without the two-time Sunshine Athletic Conference player of the year. How have the Rams replaced Ayers' production, defensive intensity and playmaking skills?
"That's impossible, we're not asking any one person to do that," coach Greg Bollinger said. "Everybody is just playing a little bit harder and actually a little bit better."
Megan Halkitis, the new starting point guard, has stood out. "Megan can play all five positions on the team," the coach said.
Shooting guard Jen Barrett and backup Tara Spaid can also share the playmaking load. Barrett and Jamie Surmin, both starters, have stepped up their scoring to make up for Ayers' loss. Megan Curl has come off the bench and also picked up her scoring.
The Rams are a county-best 22-1 and have won 15 in a row, the past three without Ayers.
THIS IS IT: Ridgewood faces its toughest tests without Ayers starting tonight, when Pasco County's best teams meet at 6. Pasco will challenge visiting Ridgewood for a share of the conference title.
The Rams have won six SAC titles in a row. A seventh straight district title will be on the line for top-seeded Ridgewood in next week's 4A-10 tourney against Gulf and third-seeded Wesley Chapel.
