TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Tough Competition Awaits

ADVERTISEMENT

By GREGG BECNEL, Tribune correspondent

Published: January 28, 2008

TAMPA - Intriguing rivalries and an upset or two are always on the agenda as the girls basketball district tournaments tip off this week.

And as it has been in the past, Class 5A-District 8 is Hillsborough County's most competitive district.

Throughout most of the regular season, three teams from this district - Tampa Bay Tech, Bloomingdale and Freedom - resided in The Tampa Tribune's weekly Top 5.

"It has been tough playing in the district this season with two other teams being in the Top 5 of the county," Patriots coach Jason Herring said. "I feel like the teams battle-tested learn a lot about themselves. Capturing the district championship will come down to what team wants to win the most."

After suffering through three consecutive losing seasons, Tampa Bay Tech (23-1, 14-0) burst back on the scene and secured the tournament's No. 1 seed. The Titans' lone loss was against Bloomingdale in a Christmas tournament.

The Bulls (21-4, 11-3), who host the tournament, will be the No. 3 seed after losing a coin toss with Freedom (17-7, 11-3) for the second seed.

"Our district schedule has been just brutal. We are 21-4 and the No. 3 seed in our district tournament," Bloomingdale coach Mike Kiser said. "That is one tough district."

Kiser believes the rigors of the regular season will benefit his team in the postseason.

"Our schedule has been tough - three games with Tech, two games with Freedom. We also played Daytona Beach Mainland when they were state-ranked and we opened our season with Plant when they were at full strength," Kiser said. "Those tough games should help us in the tournament."

No. 4 King, the defending district champion, suffered a major setback when senior shooting guard Nicole Hensel was lost for the season in early December with a knee injury.

Armwood, Newsome, Brandon and Wharton round out the district.

If the top seeds win their first-round games, Friday's semifinals would match TBT against King and Freedom against Bloomingdale.

The Titans had little trouble in their two meetings with the Lions, winning by 17 and 21 points. The Bulls and Patriots split their season series, with each winning on the road. Freedom defeated Bloomingdale 52-37 on Nov. 27, but the Bulls won their Dec. 13 meeting 40-37.

"You play each team twice which gives you an idea of the strength and weakness of your opponent," Herring said. "The teams that prepare and follow through with excellent execution will be the last teams standing and moving on to a regional playoff berth."

Knowing a team completely can also lead to a false comfort level, however, so teams must be able to make adjustments on the fly.

"There are always surprises in the district tournament. Teams playing a zone all year come out in man-to-man. Maybe they go box-and-one on the other team's best player," Kiser said. "Hopefully as a coach you have your kids in a position to handle the changes."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT