Blue Devils Take Care of Red Devils Once Again
Wed. February 15, 2012 at 12:23 a.m. | By Solange Reyner
By SOLANGE REYNER
THE LEDGER
WINTER HAVEN | After Winter Haven went on an 18-4 run in the third quarter to go up by 14, things started looking peachy for the Blue Devils.
They were cruising in a Class 6A girls' basketball regional semifinal on Tuesday night against Kathleen, a team they had already beaten three times this season, and kept capitalizing on turnover after turnover.
But Kathleen scored some hurry up baskets in the paint to start the fourth, going on a 9-2 run to make it a seven point game. So Winter Haven had to bite down, focus.
That's been the story as of late for the Blue Devils, and they came through again.
Zeneka Willix had 27 points and Cynkeria Mobley added 20 to lead Winter Haven, which broke past Kathleen 56-41 to advance to the regional finals.
The Blue Devils will host Tampa Jefferson at 7 p.m. Saturday with a trip to the state finals on the line.
Winter Haven had to pull together late to beat Kathleen and did so by breaking the Red Devils' half-court trap.
They went on an 11-3 run in the last 4:10 of the game, mostly behind Willix, and took advantage of missed opportunities by Kathleen on the offensive side of the ball.
"The intensity was high on their end," Willix said. "And they played good but we just had to come out on top. We had to keep pushing, keep fighting."
The Blue Devils have had to learn how to focus off the court, too.
They were down one starter heading into the playoffs after coach Johnnie Lawson dismissed starting point guard Shaquoya Green from the squad for a violation of team rules and had limited play from starter Destynee Arnold on Tuesday because she was still dealing with a sore knee she injured in a regional quarterfinal game on Friday.
Arnold played 15 solid minutes on Tuesday and will be re-evaluted for Saturday's game today.
Lawson looked to Mobley, a junior, to step up at the point on Tuesday and she did so in spots, breaking up the time there with Bria Patterson.
Green's dismissal was tough, but it just pushed the team to "go harder," Willix said.
"All the way to states."
The Blue Devils had to get past a gritty Kathleen team to get to the next phase of that step, which meant dealing with senior sharp shooter My'Esha Williams, who had 18 points to lead her team.
Williams, one of three seniors for Kathleen, had nine points in the third quarter, but was held to two in the fourth.
"It was like we were rushing, turning the ball over and not looking for the ball," said Williams, who made it to the regional semis for the second time in her high school career.
"I feel accomplished but don't think it should have ended for us. We're not satisfied."
Winter Haven (56): Zeneka Willix 27, Cynkeria Mobley 20, Bria Patterson 6, Khadijah Howell 3.
Kathleen (41): My'Esha Williams 18, Destiny Small 12, Jasmine Holmes 2, Mercedes Sirmons 2, Anaya Thomas 6.
Winter Haven 13 10 20 13 — 56
Kathleen 8 8 13 12 — 41
Halftime: Winter Haven 23-16. 3-pointers: Winter Haven 4 (Patterson 2, Mobley 1, Howell 1); Kathleen 2 (Williams 2). Records: Winter Haven 18-8, Kathleen 17-10.
