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Ridgewood wraps up 7th straight title in OT

WESLEY CHAPEL - They've been pushed, prodded, shoved and dragged to the brink this season. But so far, no one in Pasco County has pushed Ridgewood over the edge.

Not yet anyway, and not Saturday night. Third-seeded Wesley Chapel came close, but top seed Ridgewood survived again, winning the Class 4A, District 10 title 66-58 in overtime.

The Rams (25-1) have won seven straight district titles, have not lost to a county foe since 2002 and are doing it with star point guard Crystal Ayers sidelined by a knee injury.

The Wildcats (11-10) were short-handed, too, missing a starter and key reserve. Yet Wesley Chapel's eight players outscored and outplayed Ridgewood's 14 35-29 in a gritty second half, overcoming a five-point halftime deficit.

"Wesley Chapel did a heck of a job, they gave a heck of an effort," Ridgewood coach Greg Bollinger said. "I think they wore down a little bit because of their numbers. We had three post (players) foul out and had two or three players playing out of position. But we still found a way."

Wildcats freshman Sthefany Thomas tied it at 56 on a driving layup as time expired. But Wesley Chapel, down to seven players, were too tired to carry it further. The Wildcats went 0-for-4 at the line and were outscored 10-2 in overtime.

Stephanie Carbone carried the Rams inside, scoring four of her 17 in overtime and grabbing 13 rebounds. Jen Barrett led Ridgewood with 19 and had three 3-pointers. Thomas and Meagan Edwards both led Wesley Chapel with 16, and Sami Polston had 10.

Ridgewood hosts 4A-9 runnerup Lecanto in Thursday's region quarterfinal playoffs. The first Wesley Chapel playoff game in school history will be at 4A-9 champion Groveland South Lake.

"I've never been prouder of these girls," Wildcats coach Mark Kopp said. "I'm going to go in that locker room and tell them that right now."

SPRING HILL - Kaitlin O'Connell scored 22 points for Groveland South Lake in a 54-51 victory over Lecanto in the final at Springstead.

Lecanto (21-6) faces Ridgewood in Thursday's region quarterfinal.

Tied at 12 after the first quarter, Lecanto closed the half with a 7-0 run to take a 25-20 lead. But behind an 8-0 run, the Eagles took a 37-35 lead after three.

Leading 47-43 with less than four minutes left, Lecanto went cold from the free-throw line, missing five in a row. The Eagles then used a fullcourt press to spark a 10-2 run.

Lecanto closed to within 53-51 with less than 10 seconds left before O'Connell sealed it with the second of two free throws.

Lecanto coach Ron Allen said he was pleased with his team's effort despite the loss.

"Our kids played hard," he said. "We just made some mistakes and came up short,"

Tiffany Wright led the Panthers with 15 points, and Tara Haddock added 12.

- BOB CHEESMAN

NEW PORT RICHEY - The recent trend of district champion underclothes continued with Land O'Lakes' 54-41 victory over host River Ridge in the final.

As the buzzer sounded, the Gators ran onto the court, lifting their jersey's over their heads to reveal sports bras that read "district champions."

The Pasco girls soccer and Mitchell boys soccer teams revealed similar undershirts after recently winning district titles.

"I had no idea," Gators coach Greg Robinson said. "I knew they were going to do something, but I didn't know what they were going to do."

Top seed Land O'Lakes' playoff road begins at home on Thursday against the 5A-6 runnerup, Haines City. The Gators (14-6) split two road playoff games as district runnersup last season.

River Ridge (7-15), which last season lost in a district quarterfinal, travels to Lakeland Lake Gibson on Thursday.

Melissa White led four Gators in double figures with 13 points, her most impressive shot a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from midcourt to conclude the first half.

"I was surprised," said White, who had three of her team's four 3-pointers. "I didn't think it was going in."

Land O'Lakes led 27-17 at the half and outscored River Ridge 27-24 the rest of the way.

The Royal Knights' only lead came when Lauren Hille's 3-pointer made it 17-15.

But Roshaunda Washington, who scored 12 points, came right back with an easy layup to tie it, and Detrice Ellis followed with two inside baskets before White made two 3-pointers during a Land O'Lakes 12-0 run.

Hille finished with a game-high 12 points. Ellis and Alison Foster scored 10 for Land O'Lakes.

- STEVE LEE