Sports
Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
Girls basketball: Green Devils done in by turnovers
By JOEY KNIGHT
Published February 3, 2008
TAMPA - St. Petersburg exited Alonso High with two consolation prizes Saturday night: a Class 6A, District 7 runnerup trophy, and the knowledge that atonement might be only two playoff rounds away.
The Green Devils' 40-31 loss to Sickles (24-2) sends them to Sarasota Riverview for Thursday's region quarterfinals. But a win there could set up a fourth Gryphons-Green Devils meeting this season in the Feb. 12 semifinals.
Should that rematch come to fruition, coach Ryan Halstead can only hope his club averts the miscues that thwarted it Saturday night. Only 24 hours after collecting more steals (13) than turnovers (12) in a semifinal win against Mitchell, the Green Devils had 25 turnovers, failed to attack the high post consistently and allowed Sickles to flourish in transition.
"Turnovers killed us," Halstead said.
So did Gryphons senior Shawnta Snakovsky (13 points). All five of Snakovsky's field goals were layups, two of which came during an 11-2 fourth-quarter run that gave Sickles a 10-point lead and offset an otherwise woeful shooting night for the winners.
"Shawnta gets three or four steals and gets out on the break, and we didn't do a good job of keeping her from transition points," Halstead said.
Nonetheless, the Devils (19-6) had rallied from a nine-point first-half deficit to tie the score at 21 late in the third quarter on Kamyia Smith's layup - St. Petersburg's third consecutive inside basket.
The Devils still trailed by only one, 24-23, when Sickles went on its decisive run. Smith sank consecutive 3-pointers - the last coming with a minute to play - to trim Sickles' lead to 35-31, but the Gryphons made three of their final four free throws and sealed things with yet another Snakovsky layup.
Off a turnover, no less.
"Give them credit; they made plays ... but we shoot ourselves in the foot," Halstead said. "Turnovers have been a problem, and unfortunately they came back to bite us (Saturday)."
[Last modified February 2, 2008, 22:53:52]
Share your thoughts on this story
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Letter to the editor
