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Jenrette Eager To Return

Tribune photo by ROBERT BURKE

Jenrette was stabbed in the lower back at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 31.

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By KATHERINE SMITH

ksmith@tampatrib.com

Published: January 14, 2009

TAMPA - One by one, players filed past Leria Jenrette, bending down to shake her hand. Armwood coach Billy Teeden bent down and hugged the Tampa Bay Tech junior guard.

"I guess it means I have people who love me," Jenrette said.
Jenrette hopes the next time she sees the Armwood players and coach, she'll be able to walk past them for the high-fives after a game, not roll past them in a wheelchair like she did Monday night. She has been confined to the wheelchair since she was stabbed in the lower back at about 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 31.
Jenrette said she was with friends when a fight broke out near West Humphrey Street and El Portal Drive. She didn't know she'd been stabbed until she saw blood. Tampa Police detectives are investigating the incident.

"It was just a bad situation," Jenrette said. "I was hanging with friends and something just happened that wasn't supposed to happen."

She has missed four games and only recently returned to school. Jenrette is not sure when she'll be back on the court. She's hoping during a doctor visit Monday to get good news and return for the district tournament.
Jenrette didn't like the helpless feeling of watching her team lose 58-40 to Armwood.

"It just makes me want to get out there and work hard," she said. "When I get healthy again, I want to go out there and show everybody what I'm made of and help my team out and just take it from there."

With the district tournament only a couple of weeks away, the sooner Jenrette gets back, the better for the 12-2 Titans. She leads the county in assists, averaging nine per game, and provides a big lift to the team whenever she's on the court.

"She's one of our captains and she's the face of our team right now," Tech coach Heather Glezen said. "We're just happy that she's alive and she's back in school now. We'll take it one step at a time."

PANTHERS PLANTED: The Hillsborough Terriers asserted themselves as a team to be reckoned with in 5A-District 10 with its upset victory against Plant on Monday night. Previously, the Panthers had lost only to the top two teams in the county - Jefferson and Tampa Catholic.

The Terriers joined that elite group with their 45-35 victory. The fact they did it without leading scorer Shalisia Hall made the win that much more impressive. Hall has been sidelined for disciplinary reasons since missing a holiday tournament. She hopes to return soon.

Plant dropped its second in a row Tuesday, losing 53-41 to Jefferson. The Panthers dominated the first quarter, but the Dragons pulled away in the second with an 8-0 run. Jefferson closed the half on a 22-6 run for a 12-point lead.

The Dragons increased that lead to 17 in the third quarter, but the Panthers cut it to 11 with a 9-2 run lead by junior Michelle Taylor. The Dragons pulled away in the fourth quarter and likely will be the No. 1 seed in the district tournament.

One of the few highlights for Plant was Taylor, whose team-high 14 points included her prep career 1,000th point in the first quarter.

FEATURED PLAYER: Laurie Beaty, Jefferson, sophomore guard - Beaty led the Dragons with 20 points in their 53-41 victory against Plant on Tuesday night. She entered the game averaging 10.6 points per game.

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