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Crusaders Make History, Reach State

By SCOTT PURKS

Tribune correspondent

Published: February 21, 2009

TAMPA - For the first time in school history, after several near misses during the years, a Tampa Catholic girls basketball team is going to the state's final four.

And make no mistake, this team, behind a wide range of talent and attacks, has a chance to win it all.

Just ask Melbourne Central Catholic coach Candee Terry, whose team hung tight with the Crusaders into the third quarter of Saturday's Class 3A-Region 3 final before getting beat 57-44.

"Tampa Catholic is good because they do a lot of things really well," Terry said. "I was told that TC was one-dimensional and that absolutely is not true. They can beat you in several different ways with several different players. The way to describe them is multidimensional."

TC (28-2) didn't show all its strength, however, until midway through the third quarter when it erased a two-point deficit with a 15-2 run. After that, the hole for MCC (16-14) grew deeper, reaching 20 points with 3 minutes remaining.

"We've been explosive like that all season averaging 70 points a game," TC coach Nancy Kroll said. "I think it just took some time to settle some nerves tonight. We were excited."

TC's pivotal third-quarter surge was ignited by Collette Eule, who on consecutive offensive possessions scored a layup off a steal, hit a 3-pointer and made a short jumper on a breakaway.

By the time the game was over, Eule had 27 points, a fact that cast a shadow over MCC's go-to player, forward Crystal Rogers, who finished with 18 points.

"Everyone knows our offense goes through Rogers and TC took advantage of that knowledge," Terry said. "I thought TC did a great job denying Rogers the ball in the second half."

Kroll gave credit to her team's relentless press and the fact the Crusaders believe in themselves.

"There is no reason for us not to be confident," Kroll said. "We're good. We've played a lot of good teams and beaten them. We're ready for the state semifinals."

Tampa Catholic will play its historic semifinal Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. at The Lakeland Center against Miramar Parkway Academy, which advanced by defeating Plantation American Heritage 54-48.

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