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Tease of a near victory stings winless Eagles

By DAVID MURPHY
Published December 15, 2005

Six seconds after the final free throw splashed through the net Friday night, the emotion began to flow for the Springstead girls basketball team.

"I think I went through a box and a half of Kleenex before I was done with my postgame talk," Eagles coach Greg Linley said after Zephyrhills forward Marta Heidenreich sank two free throws with six seconds left to beat his team 60-59.

For many teams, it would have been a frustrating last-minute defeat to a subpar squad. But for Springstead, which is 0-9 this season and has not won a game since 2003-04, it was heartbreaking.

The Eagles' one-point loss was the closest they had come to winning a game over the past two seasons (they went 0-19 last year) and was only their second single-digit defeat in that time span.

But it was the manner in which the defeat occurred that stung the most.

Trailing by 11 points with less than four minutes remaining, the Eagles - led by junior guard Hilary Fiocca - had battled back to take a 59-58 lead with just under 30 seconds left. But with less than 10 seconds left, Heidenreich was fouled near midcourt, and she calmly sank both of her shots from the foul line.

"That was really heartbreaking for all of us, especially the returning players," said Fiocca, who scored 10 of her team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter. "It kind of felt like it wasn't enough."

So, is a win in the future for Springstead, which followed up the near-miss with a 58-30 loss to Nature Coast Monday?

Said Fiocca: "We most certainly think we can do it."

THE SHARKS' BAIT: Heading into Wednesday night's pivotal showdown against Lecanto, Nature Coast boasted an 8-1 record and was the undisputed heavyweight of Hernando County girls basketball. But none of the Sharks' eight wins came against teams with winning records, leaving coach Jason Montgomery in an interesting philosophical predicament.

Though Nature Coast's schedule is beneficial for a young squad that is short on experience and depth, it doesn't help prepare them for games against top teams like Gulf, which crushed the Sharks 62-28 on Dec. 5.

"You walk a fine line with a young team," Montgomery said.

Montgomery said he "isn't happy" with his schedule, but he has just five open games each year because of district, conference and holiday tournament schedules.

THIS AND THAT: Central guard Ronisha Browdy continued her recent hot streak, scoring 19 in the Bears' win over River Ridge on Tuesday. Noemi Rivera added 13 points in her second game after rejoining the team. ... Nature Coast expects guard Erin Cagan, a senior who has missed the team's first nine games while recovering from an ACL tear, back any day.

[Last modified December 15, 2005, 00:33:15]