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Barons Cruise Past AHN

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By STEVE SIMS, Tribune correspondent

Published: February 3, 2008

TAMPA - From controlling the tip-off to its 15-point lead at the final buzzer, St. Petersburg Catholic dominated the Class 3A-District 11 girls championship game against the Academy of the Holy Names on Saturday, 49-33.

The Barons never trailed during the fast-paced, physical contest at Tampa Catholic.

"We know their style, just like they know ours," St. Pete Catholic coach Nick Vandewalle said.

"We adjusted well and played hard."
Vandewalle said his strategy was to get some overloads and take advantage of AHN's double-teaming of Sasha Chaplin.

"Sasha controlled the inside; she dominated," he said. "Every time she touched the ball she had two or three players on her, and she still got 26 points."

After the game, Chaplin pointed to her team's overall effort.

"We stepped it up in the second half and played Barons basketball," she said. "I expected the Academy to give us a tough fight."

AHN coach Casey Higgins said she thought her team's hard-fought 60-57 semifinal win over Tampa Catholic the night before took its toll.

"We were a little fatigued, and St. Pete Catholic beat us mentally and physically Saturday night," Higgins said. "They're not No. 2 in the state for no reason. They can go inside, they can go outside ... they've just got a bunch of weapons and they're hard to stop.

"We came in as the underdog and nobody expected us to be here. These girls are all heart, they don't give up and they don't back down to anybody."

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