TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

St. Pete Loses Out On Road

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHAD BROCKHOFF, Tribune correspondent

Published: February 8, 2008

SARASOTA - Visiting St. Petersburg High survived a pair of first-half knockdowns, but the Green Devils never quite recovered from the knockout blow that Riverview's Lexi Pember delivered late in the second quarter of Thursday night's Class 6A-Region 2 quarterfinal that led the Rams to a 55-39 win.

Pember's buzzer-beating 3-pointer on the final play of the first half gave the Rams a 30-24 lead and the momentum they needed as they moved into the regional semifinals.

Having survived an early 11-1 run by the Rams, St. Petersburg pulled to within one at 17-16 with 3:22 left in the second quarter. A pair of free throws from Rachel Harrison and a 3-pointer from recent returnee Jaz Roberts helped the Rams build an eight-point lead, but the Green Devils got a pair of free throws from Sharlease Hughes on their final possession to make it a three-point game.

Belief soon turned to despair for a St. Petersburg team that was making its first state playoff appearance in 11 years as a wide-open Pember knocked down the first of her two field goals.

"They came right back and that was just a huge 3 to get the momentum back on our side," Rams head coach B.J. Ivey said. "We opened up the second half with a little bit of momentum and the rest just took care of itself."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT