BELLVIEW — Sebring senior Whitney Lee scored 10 of her team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter and the Blue Streaks defense came up huge in a 58-49 victory over the Lyman Greyhounds (Orlando) in the second round of the Lady Rattlers Holiday Tournament on Friday. ...more

December 30, 2007

Those who watched the first Lightning College Hockey Classic last year may remember seeing Notre Dame win the championship and there is a good chance the Fighting Irish could repeat in this weekend's four-team tournament. ...more

December 29, 2007

SEBRING — Taking care of the ball will most definitely be a resolution for the new year for the Sebring boys basketball team, which coughed up 24 turnovers in a 58-45 loss to the Suncoast Chargers in the late game of the Jim Taveniere Holiday Tournament on Thursday. A very physical Charger squad muscled Sebring for position and an effective half-court press forced the Blue Streak guards to pick up their dribble early and turnovers inevitably were the result, going down 17-4 early in the opening stanza. "They were a very rough team and the referee's set the tone by letting us play," Sebring shooting guard Chris Grubb said. "[Suncoast] is a really good team and they did a great job of closing down the middle and forcing us to take outside shots. "They're press defense and a lot of mental mistakes on our part caused us to get behind early, but I thought we did a good job getting back in the game." ...more

December 29, 2007

Gulf point guard Nicole Adams scored 15 points, leading the Bucs girls basketball team to a 33-24 semifinal victory over Deltona Trinity Christian Academy on Friday. ...more

December 29, 2007

BELLEVIEW — A holiday treat. That's what the Sebring girls basketball team enjoyed by blasting Pine Ridge (Deltona) 41-29 in Thursday's first round of the Lady Rattlers Holiday Tournament. The Class 3A Blue Streaks improved to 11-4 on the season as Whitney Wells scored a team-high 12 points, while Chelsea Davis chipped in with eight points and Benita Grant added six. "Our defense was solid," said Sebring first-year coach Mike Lee. "We rebounded well and showed a lot of patience on offense." ...more

December 29, 2007

SEBRING — It may be the season to give, but the Avon Park boys basketball team is taking that to the extreme. The Red Devils, who have had trouble hanging on to the ball, committed 30 turnovers in losing to Lakeland 57-38 in Thursday's first round of the Taveniere Holiday Tournament. "It's the same story every game, " said first-year Avon Park coach Luther Clemons. "We make too many turnovers and fall behind and spend the rest of the game trying to catch up. "Our defense was solid, but we didn't shoot well and we weren't patient enough on offense." Both teams came out sluggish to start the contest and the Dreadnaughts, led by James Campbell's four points, took an 11-6 lead heading into the second period. ...more

December 29, 2007

Jordan Schulman and Nicole Adams combined for 36 points, leading the Gulf girls basketball team to a 57-19 victory against South Sumter on Thursday at the Belleview Holiday Tournament. ...more

December 28, 2007

maybe a little too smoothly. ...more

December 27, 2007

SEBRING –– Princeton Harris can't remember when the annual Taveniere holiday basketball tournament started, but he has a pretty good idea of where his team will be when it finishes. "The Taveniere is my judge," said Harris, Sebring's boys basketball coach, who noted the tournament's been going since he graduated SHS in 1987. "I'll go into my office Saturday night and know where we're at, and what kind of things we need to work on the rest of the season." The eight-team tournament tips off Thursday, when Inlet Grove takes on Mulberry at 3 p.m. That game is followed by a 4:30 p.m. meeting between Gateway (Kissimmee) and George Jenkins, a 6 p.m. game between Avon Park and Lakeland, and, finally, the opening nightcap between host Sebring and Riviera Beach-Sun Coast at 7:30 p.m. ...more

December 26, 2007

AUBURNDALE — Rickey Taylor had 14 points and four other Red Devils scored more than eight points each Friday night as the Avon Park boys basketball team jumped ahead early and cruised to a 73-58 win over Victory Christian of Lakeland at the T-Mac Tournament. Avon Park led 33-22 at the half and used a 23-16 fourth quarter to pull away for the victory over the Saints. Xavier Caldwell had nine points, while Teddy Allen, Marvin Williams and Tim Dennis each added eight to pace the Devils, who took on Lake Region on Saturday. For results, see Monday's Highlands Today. ...more

December 23, 2007