Tallahassee Comets Girls Basketball

Tallahassee Comets - Preparing Female Student-Athletes For Their Academic & Athletic Future!

Jim Henry
Posted on Fri, Dec. 19, 2003
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Warner, NFC girls hammer Taylor County

Coach Aaron Krause has had to make a number of adjustments since arriving at North Florida Christian from Arizona this season. Some have come quicker than others, and Thursday's girls basketball game against Taylor County was a perfect example.

Playing without injured starting point guard Amy Lews, the Eagles' revamped lineup worked wonders in its 69-29 victory over Taylor County in the opening game of the NFC Christmas Classic.

Melaine Warner's 20 points and 17 rebounds paced four Eagles in double digits. NFC opened the game with an 18-2 spurt and was never threatened. The four-team tourney continues tonight as Chiles meets Munroe. NFC squares off against the winner in Saturday's championship game.

Krause, who won seven state titles in three sports while coaching at a private school in Phoenix, Ariz., stresses unselfishness and hustle. The formula was effective against the overmatched Bulldogs (5-5), who feature two juniors, two sophomores and six freshmen.

"We are trying to pick the intensity up a little bit, not to play so flat-footed," Krause said.

"I want them pushing the court a little more and be really aggressive on defense. We are trying to get the easy pass up the court. We want to make defenses adjust right away."

Mission accomplished, despite personnel changes.

Injured in Tuesday's win over Jefferson County, Lewis was replaced at the point by Samantha Phillips. The poised Phillips, who normally starts at shooting guard, excelled. She finished with eight assists and six steals as the Eagles scored a majority of their points inside and off fast breaks.

Brianna Burns added 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Kristen Ledlow (11) and Bianca Scott (10) scored in double digits to help lead the Eagles to their second victory over the Bulldogs this season.

"We were trying to work on our fast break as well as trying to work very hard at executing our new roles with Amy out," Burns said. "This (tournament) gives us the chance to keep playing through the Christmas break, plus working on our fundamentals, the nitty-gritty stuff."

NFC's lone defeat was 41-40 to Maclay in a District4-2A game. Lost in the final seconds at the foul line, that memory continues to serve as motivation for the Eagles.

"We come out every game with that under our belt and that's why we try to push and push and push," Burns said.

Added Warner: "I think when we are ready and pumped up, when we get our team together, that's when we seem to play our best. We still think about that (Maclay game)."

While Krause continues to get acclimated to his new surroundings, second-year Taylor County coach Slyvester Bellamy is preaching patience to his young team.

"I told the girls that you have to take the good from this game and learn from it," Bellamy said. "If you keep learning and hustling, everything will fall into place. I don't want the girls to get discouraged. They played hard."

TAYLOR - Miller 5, Flowers 9, McNeil 10, Thomas 2, McNealy 3.

NFC - Bianca Scott 10, Melanie Warner 20, Sam Phillips 8, Kristen Ledlow 11, Briana Burns 16, Whitney Roberts 4.

Taylor4 8 9 8 - 29

NFC 20 16 10 23 - 69