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Feb, 2022

A S-H-A-R-K-I-N-G , YET SOBER REALITY

After a restless night of sleep and waking up in a solemn mood, I was left to wonder,’ 'About Last Night'. As was the case for most non observers, the question remain, What happened? No it was not a dream, but definitely a bitter pill to digest. Finding the right words to submit a post writeup, amidst the anger and disappointment, proved to be extremely difficult. Perhaps, the right place to be wrong, but the wrong time to be right. Maybe, the perspective would change after witnessing the District Championship game on Friday. One is known best by what we do and never just by what we say. I was reminded of a pastor’s sermon of recent weeks, “Get up, get over it, and move on”. Patience is indeed a virtue.

A lifeline and blessing was extended to the Lady Panthers. Nease would receive another chance to get it right. Adding more excitement, if not drama, the Lady Panthers playoff run will continue with a trilogy. Who knew? Yes, Ponte Vedra will host Nease on Thursday at 7:00 with the winner advancing and the loser left to contemplate what could have been. But, I know you are really wondering, how did we get here? About last night (Wednesday in the Den), Nease (22-3) faced off against Ponte Vedra (16-7) in semifinal action, in hopes of continuing what has been, a very successful season thus far.

However, in the here and now world, what matters most, is Now. The Lady Panthers presented an impressive resume (8th ranked 6A) and currently sporting a 10-game winning streak, which includes an unblemished record at home. At the other end of the spectrum, stood the Lady Sharks, riding a wave a confidence and a revenge agenda. On Jan. 13th, Nease defeated Ponte Vedra 51-39. Looking on paper, the Lady Panthers appeared to be the better team. However, when rivals clash and a bigger prize is at hand, one can expect the best of what each team has to offer. Records, rankings, statistics and venues are of little merit. All that really matters, is which team is able to take care of the business at hand. Yes indeed, it truly was all about last night. In some inner circles, it is a given that, if one looks too far ahead, they can be blinded by what lies before them.

Ponte Vedra’s game centered around patience and the three-ball concept to counter Nease pressure defense and up tempo aggressiveness. The contrasting styles, tends to favor the team exhibiting the greatest amount of aggression, while imposing their will on the opposition. More importantly, the team that score the ball the best often prevails in the end. In the game played several weeks ago, Nease converted 15/17 free throws. On Wednesday night, Ponte Vedra connected on 11/15 at the charity stripe and Nease 6/8.
The Lady Sharks three-ball game netted 11/22, while Nease found themselves out of sync and a dismal 6/28 from behind the arc. The Lady Panthers got the very best of what PV had to offer, and the unexpected bad fortunes of a subpar shooting night. Nease suffered a similar shooting fate in an early season loss to St. Augustine. When the remnants of the storm had dissipated in the Den, the Lady Sharks smelled blood in the water and came away with the victory (53-46). The loss derailed the Lady Panthers hope for a rematch against St. Augustine for a District title.

Taking a look at the in game notes, one is left with a better perspective of what transpired on Wednesday night in the Den. Collectively, Ponte Vedra would win the final three quarters, after Nease took the opening period 16-4. For every driving layup generated by Nease, Ponte Vedra countered with treys. Sydney Gomes opened the game with the first bucket to signal the start of the war of attrition. The closely-contested clash was deadlocked several times in the first quarter alone (2-2), (5-5), (8-8) and (11-11). A slicing Syd, netted 8 points in the period, pacing Nease to the 16-14 advantage after concluding the first eight minutes in regulation.

A quick layup by PV to open the second period, knotted the score again (!6-16). Syd would find Cami for an open three to put Nease out front again (21-16) at the 6:30 mark. The Lady Sharks responded with a trey on the end of a 5-0 run to tie the score again (21-21).
A Fifield steal and layup put Nease back out front and before you could bat your eye, PV connected on yet another three ball. The Lady Sharks followed an assisted basket from Syd to Allie with a driving layup to conclude the first half leading by one point (26-25).

A driving layup by Syd is pure money for Nease to open the second half. The back and forth affair continued. PV connected on both free throws after a foul committed by the Lady Panthers. Another deep three by the Lady Sharks put them ahead 31-27 and forced a Nease timeout. Here we go again. The ‘Matrix’ is fouled on another successful ,driving layup. She would convert the free throw to cut the deficit to one (31-30), with under 5 minutes in the period. The Lady Sharks would go on a 7-0 run behind 4/6 free throws and a big shot behind the arc. PV would now lead 38-30, representing the biggest lead by either team. Cami Robinson went 2-2 on free throws and Ella Harrison converted 1-2 for Nease to close out the quarter facing a 5 point deficit (38-33) with one final period to go.

Savannah Gomes opened the final period of scoring with a three ball, followed by an assisted layup to Cami by Syd to bring things back to even terms (38-38) at the 6:45 mark. A PV layup was again answered by one from Syd to tie things again (40-40). However, down the stretch, the Lady Sharks countered any run of energy by Nease, by knocking down big threes and converting 4-4 free throws to hold on to the lead (46-43). Allie Fifield’s trey from the top of the key, would be the final points scored by Nease in the waning minute of play.
The Valiant effort by the Lady Panthers would fall short of the mark (53-46).

Syd Gomes led the way for the Nease contingent with a double-double (20 points, 13 rebs and 7 dimes). Allie Fifield finished her night with 10 points and 4 boards, while Cami Robinson and Sav Gomes totaled 7 and 6 points in respective fashion. As stated earlier, the stage is now set for the TRILOGY (ROUND THREE) between PV and Nease. The encounter in the 'Shark Tank’ is set for a 7:00 tip off on Thursday, 02/10. The team that emerges victorious will advance to play the Crestview vs Navarre winner. Time to do your dance Lady Panthers. Knowledge is indeed power when applied in the proper context. How fortunate are we…. Coach Bernie Blue