Hawks, Pats advance

By JARRET GUTHRIE
Published February 4, 2006

SEFFNER - Armwood held Bloomingdale to 12 points in the second half to defeat the Bulls 51-37. The Hawks' Monique Reynard had 19 points to lead the team and had two 3-pointers.

"It was a big win for us," Armwood coach Jeff Pafunda said. "(Bloomingdale) is extremely well coached and they have a lot of talent."

Pafunda said it was a change from a man defense to a 1-2-1 in the second half that allowed the Hawks to control Bloomingdale and keep the Bulls to such a low point total in the final two quarters.

"Our defense was not up to my expectations in the first half," Pafunda said. "So we switched it around and that was the key to the game. Not to let them score the 3-pointer and try to keep them from driving to the basket."

Bloomingdale failed to capitalize on Armwood's 16 fouls going 8-for-20 from the free throw line.

In the first game of the night Freedom remained undefeated on the season, pushing the team's record to 27-0 with a 65-45 win against King.

"The reason we work so well is because we do the dirty work," Freedom coach Nancy Kroll said. "We rebound, we run, we are unselfish."

Brianna Nelson led the way for the Patriots with 22 points, 5 steals and 5 rebounds.

Carkia Harvey and Morgan Fairbanks each had 10 rebounds. The Lions were led by Samara Shepherd's 15 points and Wyshana Brooks 14.

Host Blake had little trouble advancing to the district final.

The Yellow Jackets jumped to a 23-4 first-quarter score on their way to a 50-22 win over Middleton. Blake faces Plant, a 59-32 winner over Jefferson, tonight at 7.

As good as the Blake offense was, its defense was even better. Blake held the Tigers to just 11 first-half points while building an early lead that stretched past 20 points. Kayla Vickers led Blake with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Robyn Williams added 13 points, seven steals and five assists.

"We played really well. Our defense was the story for us," Blake coach April Williams said. "I am most definitely happy with the way we are playing right now. We came out strong and played really strong.'

In the other semifinal, Plant outscored Jefferson 29-4 in the second quarter to seize control of the game. Jefferson, which finishes its season at 7-18, hung with the Panthers for a quarter, as the first period ended in an 11-all tie. But Plant, which qualified for the playoffs with the win, immediately thereafter took charge. By halftime the Panthers (19-7) led 40-15 and they cruised from there.

- ROD GIPSON, Times correspondent

[Last modified February 4, 2006, 00:33:08]