District 7 is wide open, Eagles coach says

By Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 24, 2001

Girls basketball

With each result Springstead coach Whit Campbell hears, the less he understands about which teams belong where in the Class 4A, District 7 standings.

"It's a strange district," Campbell said Tuesday as the Eagles prepare for an important three-game stretch.

"There's a lot of equity in the district, but it doesn't make sense," he said.

Consider the following: Hernando was thought to be the team to beat, but the Leopards lost to North Marion on Friday night.

Central has beaten North Marion, Leesburg has defeated Central twice, Springstead has topped Leesburg and Lecanto has beaten Springstead twice.

"Everybody has a team that can do well at any point," Campbell said.

"Hernando and North Marion have great teams, and (Central coach Lori Lessley's) team can beat anybody on any given night. If everything came together for us, we could do that, too."

This week is full of opportunities for Springstead (9-10, 3-5), which faced North Marion on Tuesday night, have a third shot at Central on Thursday and a non-district, non-easy game Friday against South Sumter, ranked fifth among Class 3A schools.

"This is a defining period for us," said Campbell, whose team earned a 55-43 victory against Land O'Lakes on Monday. "I think Central is going to be a big game for us."

Before Central can get a third win against Springstead, the Bears have their first shot at Hernando tonight.

A scheduling conflict in December kept the crosstown rivals from playing until the final weeks of the season.

After splitting the series last year, Lessley's squad has been looking forward to tonight.

"We've tried to make it not any bigger than any other game, but it's hard not to," Lessley said.

"The kids are excited about it, and it's a chance for us to get in the best position for districts."

Central (11-7, 5-3) has the Leopards at home just six days later, and could get them a third time in two weeks when the district tournament is played at Hernando next month.

Both teams have their strengths in the frontcourt. Central has had consistent double-figure scoring from center Kerry Donegan and forward Stacey Waters. Hernando counters with center Stephanie Freeman and Bernice Mosby, who combine for more than 25 points and 20 rebounds a game.

Lessley said containing Mosby is a key to keeping up with the Leopards, but she takes pride in the fact that her club isn't too reliant on one player.

"We like to think we don't have one go-to player on this team," she said.

"Stacey and Kerry have been there for us, and Tracie (Ploskonka) is right there, too," Lessley said. "We've had different people stepping up for us."

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