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Wildcats Get By Gators

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By CRISTINA LEDRA, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 13, 2008

WESLEY CHAPEL - The moment Wesley Chapel saw the whole game against Land O' Lakes change came with 41 seconds left in the first half of Tuesday's Class 5A-Region 2 semifinal.

The Wildcats (24-4) already had an eight-point advantage on the Gators when Kayli Keough was called for her third foul, sending her to the bench and limiting her playing time in the second half.

That was all the opportunity Wesley Chapel needed to roll to a 43-24 win against Land O' Lakes (25-4) Tuesday night, marking the first time the Wildcats girls basketball team has advanced to the region finals.

"Kayli getting into early foul trouble absolutely killed us," Land O' Lakes coach Laurie Pacholke said. "We're not going to do a lot with her sitting on the bench. So much is put on points, on who scores and who doesn't. People don't understand what makes Kayli so special is that she does absolutely everything."

Not having the 6-foot-2 Keough especially down low, opened up the game for Wesley Chapel's Jeani Ducos, who led all scorers with 15 points.

Ducos had an all-around good game getting rebounds and key blocks to go with her scoring.

The Wildcats made sure to take advantage of Keough's limited playing time in as many ways as they could.

"Not much changed for us, we just put more pressure on the guards to make them fumble it so we could get the turnovers," Wesley Chapel guard Ashley Carey said.

Carey finished the game with 12 points.

The Wildcats built their lead to 11 points by the end of the third quarter as they got solid play from the entire team, and they continued to add to that lead in the fourth.

"I feel like this makes us better known," Ducos said. "Like, now everyone knows who the better team is, and we'll be recognized for that."

This was the fourth meeting between the teams, and after Tuesday's win, Wesley Chapel has won three of four.

Wesley Chapel plays Winter Haven on Saturday in the Class 5A-Region 2 finals.

"This makes us confident but not cocky, because we know it's going to be a struggle the rest of the way up and that we need to play hard and focus hard," Carey said.

Reporter Cristina Ledra can be reached at (813) 948-4203 or cledra@tampatrib.com.

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