• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Southeast Hangs on to Beat Canes: Noles Win 69th Straight Against a County Foe

Posted on: Sunday, 5 February 2006, 12:00 CST

By Emery Skolfield, The Bradenton Herald, Fla.

Feb. 5--BRADENTON -- Underneath John Harder's peach-orange button-up shirt was an invisible bullseye. The longtime Southeast High girls basketball coach felt it Saturday evening, just as he had all season long.

This was supposed to be the year a Manatee County foe finally would end the Seminoles' lengthy win streak versus county teams. Instead, scrappy Southeast kept on doing what it has been since Jan. 1, 1997. Oh, yes, and the Noles added another district title while they were at it.

Southeast won its 69th consecutive game against a county opponent Saturday night, hanging on to edge host Manatee 37-34 in the Class 5A-District 12 final.

"It's very hard to (play) against all that tradition," said Harder, who has coached the Seminoles to seven consecutive district titles and 13 during his 22-year career. "That's how I felt all year long. Everybody expected this would be their year to win the district, to beat up Southeast.

"That's where I feel so much pride in this particular district championship."

The Noles (20-8) will host 5A-11 runner-up St. Petersburg Lakewood (20-5) at 7 p.m. next Thursday night in a Region 3 quarterfinal. Manatee will travel to Gulfport Boca Ciega (23-4), which beat Lakewood 59-44 on Saturday night.

The third-seeded Hurricanes (18-9), who committed 16 turnovers in the first half, chipped away at a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit and, after Southeast missed four consecutive free throws in the final 20 seconds, had a chance to tie the game as time expired. That's when standout forward Hayley Harvey's 30-foot attempt glanced off the backboard, inciting the Noles' victory celebration.

"(Harvey is) a senior, and I'm sure she wanted that shot," said first-year Manatee coach Flo Brazukas. "I wouldn't have wanted it in anyone else's hands."

Harvey, a 6-foot-1 forward, scored six points in the final 1 minute, 29 seconds and poured in 11 of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter.

While Harvey tugged her team back into the game, top-seeded Southeast failed to put it away at the foul line, missing 9-of-11 free-throws in the fourth quarter. The Noles finished 9-of-25 (36 percent) from the line and 14-of-43 (33 percent) from the field.

"We've had way better teams than what our team is now, but we still try to work hard and keep the streak going," said Southeast junior Kasondra Simmons, who finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. "This was so important to us."

SOUTHEAST (37) -- Kimber Smith 1 1-6 3, LaDaisha Holloway 2 1-2 5, Nele Schmidt 5 3-7 13, Breona Siplin 1 1-2 3, Kasondra Simmons 5 3-6 13, Kayla Rivers 0 0-2 0. Totals: 14 9-25 37.

MANATEE (34) -- Megan Dzikas 4 0-0 8, Danielle Mullen 1 0-0 2, Courtney McDonald 1 0-0 2, Hayley Harvey 6 6-7 18, Carin Dykes 0 2-2 2, Christina Natali 1 0-1 2. Totals: 13 8-10 34.

Southeast 10 6 11 10 -- 37

Manatee 6 8 5 15 -- 34

3-pointers: None. Total fouls: Southeast 12, Manatee 19. Fouled out: Dzikas (Manatee). Records: Southeast 20-8, Manatee 18-9.

Saturday's results

CLASS 5A-DISTRICT 12

-- Southeast 37,

Manatee 34

CLASS 4A-DISTRICT 10

-- Sebring 67, Palmetto 42

CLASS 3A-DISTRICT 10

-- Fort Myers Bishop Verot 55, Sarasota Cardinal Mooney 50

CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 10

-- Sarasota Christian 56, Bradenton Christian 31

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, The Bradenton Herald, Fla.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, Fla.)

More News in this Category