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Girls basketball: Barons maintain dominance over Jaguars
By ROD GIPSON, Times Correspondent
Published February 3, 2008
TAMPA - In each of the three previous seasons, St. Petersburg Catholic had to get past Academy of the Holy Names to claim the Class 3A, District 11 championship.
This season proved to be no different, as the rivals again reached the title game. And unfortunately for Holy Names, the results were the same.
Behind a 26-point, 11-rebound performance from senior center Sasha Chaplin, St. Petersburg Catholic made it four in a row, defeating Holy Names 49-33. The win was the third for the Barons this season against the Jaguars.
More importantly, the win allows St. Petersburg Catholic (25-1) to open the region tournament at home Thursday. Academy (19-9) will begin region play on the road.
"We know their style, and they know ours," St. Petersburg Catholic coach Nick Vandewalle said. "They're so well coached. They always make it hard any time we play."
The Barons, ranked second in the state in Class 3A, jumped out to a 13-2 lead and were never threatened. The Jaguars did manage to pull within eight, but another Barons' run broke the game open and ended any hopes of a Holy Names win.
"They just have so many weapons," Holy Names coach Casey Higgins said. "They beat us mentally and physically. All you can do is try to slow them down."
In addition to Chaplin, there was no slowing down Barons guard Jerrica Cooley.
Cooley scored eight of her 12 points in the second half when the Jaguars double- and triple-teamed Chaplin. Holy Names was led by Katie Davis, who scored 16 points.
"We're looking forward to the (region tournament)," Vandewalle said. "We'll see what happens."
[Last modified February 2, 2008, 23:47:08]
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