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Sharks find their missing piece

Cherikhan Waddy's emergence last week makes Nature Coast a better team.

By DEREK LARIVIERE
Published February 13, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - There has previously been a belief that although Nature Coast has a lot of talent and good coaching, it would never reach the next plateau because the team had no "go-to" player.

Cherikhan Waddy might have proved otherwise last week.

The Sharks jumped out to a 28-15 lead at halftime in their region quarterfinal game against Eustis on Thursday night.

But when the rest of the Sharks went cold and seemed to be folding under the Eustis press, it was Waddy who stepped up and became the star.

Nature Coast coach Jason Montgomery said he warned Waddy before the game that if the notorious Panther press became too tough, he would shift her from her usual shooting guard spot to point guard.

"I was ready for that," Waddy said.

"Coming out of the locker room, I told myself that it was up to me to make plays for us because of what (Eustis) was doing."

Considered the most athletic player on the team, Waddy responded with a performance no one other than her coaches really expected. After scoring only three points during the first half, the junior scored 19 during the second.

Waddy was a ballhawk for Nature Coast. She led the Sharks in second-half rebounding, and her 10 rebounds for the game matched forward Jessica Eberts and was one fewer than center Shareka Maner.

Waddy scored the majority of Nature Coast's 27 second-half points. And when she was not scoring, she was finding role players in good spots so they could make a play.

A key example was backup center April Trezise.

A limited player on offense for most of the season, Trezise was the only other Shark to finish in double figures in scoring on Thursday (10 points).

In the third quarter, Waddy scored eight points and found Trezise under the basket for the other two scores.

Trezise missed only one shot all night.

"(Waddy) brings more to the table than just athleticism, although she is our most athletic player," Montgomery said. "She has great court presence. She knows when to take over a game and when to lean on other girls to make the plays for us."

This was the first time on a big stage Waddy was able to shine as a clutch player. The revelation that she might be the "go-to" scorer many believed the Sharks lacked makes them a far more dangerous team.

Even Eustis coach Deta Bush conceded her team was not prepared for a performance such as that.

"Our girls came out to play and just came up short," she said. "But without what (Waddy) did for them in the second half, I think we could have won this game."

Fast Facts:

Region semifinal

Who: Ocala West Port (22-6) at Nature Coast (23-5).

When: 7 tonight

Admission: $6

The road here: Nature Coast beat Eustis 55-50. West Port beat Palatka 65-40

Outlook: One key will be how the Sharks match up against center Hannah Jones. The Wolf Pack's stout post presence will face Shareka Maner, but Maner is a little shorter. Her athleticism will be key to making plays. But even when Jones has been shut down, West Port's guards have shown they can pick up the slack.

Derek LaRiviere, Times correspondent

[Last modified February 12, 2007, 22:47:26]