Girls 4A basketball: Tight Sharks come up short

Despite its size advantage, Nature Coast stumbles against Poinciana.

By DEREK J. LaRIVIERE
Published February 8, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - For seven seniors, including four starters, this was not the way they wanted their Nature Coast careers to end.

Hosting the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs, the Sharks watched their season end in a 50-46 overtime loss to Poinciana.

Nature Coast (23-6) played tight from the start, settling for outside jumpers instead of driving to the rim, which had been the focus of its offense for much of the season.

Still, the Sharks stayed within striking distance for much of the game thanks to their height advantage.

"I think a lot of this goes to us not having been in this situation before," Nature Coast coach Travis Lamle said. "We haven't played a lot of close games this season, and it showed tonight."

That size advantage almost did Poinciana (25-3) in, as the Eagles were overmatched on the boards 47-31.

But it was the quickness of point guard Yeshira Delgado that had the Sharks off-balance well into overtime.

Although she didn't fill up the stat sheet with scoring, Delgado finished with five assists and six steals.

Poinciana's real hero for the night came in the form of shooting guard Lyllique Roman. The Stetson-bound senior scored a game-high 19, including two clutch 3-pointers in the second half.

"We have some talented girls on this team, and they all came to play tonight," Poinciana coach Jamerson Jones said. "When we pressured them, good things happened for us."

Disappointment was an understatement for Nature Coast as it was outscored 8-4 in the extra period.

Senior center Shareka Maner, the last of three Sharks to foul out, left the court with 17 points and 16 rebounds for an impressive end to her prep career, but her and shooting guard Cherikhan Waddy (nine points, 10 rebounds) didn't look 100 percent after being hindered with late-season leg injuries.

[Last modified February 7, 2008, 23:33:55]