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Plant, Jefferson Reach Championship

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By CHRIS ERRINGTON, Tribune correspondent

Published: February 2, 2008

TAMPA - With top-seeded Plant surprisingly trailing Hillsborough by five and being decimated by the hot shooting of guard Shalisia Hall, Panthers coach Carrie Mahon posed one question in the halftime locker room:

Who would stop Hall and send Plant to the Class 5A-District 10 championship game?
Michelle Taylor never gave her teammates a chance to answer.

After scoring 23 points in the opening half, Hall was held scoreless by a relentless Taylor as Plant earned a 60-50 comeback victory Friday night at Jefferson High School.

The win sends the Panthers into tonight's final at 7 against No. 3-seeded Jefferson, which used a game-ending 21-5 run to shock No. 2 Blake 47-40 in the nightcap.

"Michelle said, 'I'm guarding her,'" Mahon said. "She didn't give anyone an option. We usually put her on the other team's best player, but had gotten away from doing that.

"At this point in the season, though, you've got to go with your best."

Taylor also scored a team-high 14 points, while teammates De'Erika Brown and Rebecca Marve each added 10 and Ganice Macho nine as Plant outscored Hillsborough 33-18 after the break.

Khai Grubbs added 13 for Hillsborough.

After taking a 36-26 lead late into the third quarter of the second game, Blake seemed well on its way to meeting Plant for the title. But, when Dragons coach Tom Mosca devised a defense that collapsed around Blake senior Chanele Patton every time she touched the ball, the comeback began.

Jefferson reeled off the game's next 10 points to tie the score and, thanks to some clutch inside defense and timely forced turnovers, held Blake to only five fourth-quarter points.

"We knew coming back could be done and these kids just kept believing it," Mosca said.

"They're so young that they don't know any better."

Atavia Blake and Laurie Beaty each scored a team-high 13 for Jefferson.

Patton had a game-high 18 and Ashley Gary 14 for Blake.

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