Article and Photography by ALICE MARY HERDEN
Weeki Wachee, Fla. — The week before the holiday break, the Hornets had a tough loss against Crystal River (71-38) and South Sumter (64-35), but they stopped Mitchell’s three-game winning streak beating them in a four-point lead: 48-44.
Weeki Wachee met Nature Coast Tech for another court match on Friday night, Dec. 20. Their first encounter with the Sharks had been during the beginning of the basketball season. It was their second game of the season on Nov. 22 and they lost to the Sharks 48-37. However, it was a different story on Friday night as the Hornets defended their court beating Nature Coast Tech 67-30.
Nature Coast’s fall out: fouls, 12 in the first half. However, NCT began to pull themselves together to put points on the board.
“What happened tonight was more about (not showing) up with the right mentality,” Nature Coast Tech coach Emily Gore said. “My girls were eating hamburgers at 6:30 in the bleachers. I think (they thought) we were just here to chill out tonight. When we stepped on the court, that was very evident, that’s a problem.”
Despite the score, Emily stated, players will always learn from every game. She knows and experienced how players can pull together and bounce back. In the 2016-2017 season, the Lady Sharks had nine wins and 17 losses; however, they rebounded with eight returning players in the 2017-2018 season; 14 wins and ten losses.
“There is a ton of potential and a ton of talent on that roster, but they’ve got to figure some things out. They have to figure out how to work hard and how to control their frustrations; they have a lot to figure out. They have time,” Gore said.
With the help of his coaching staff, Weeki Wachee’s coach Mike Munro continues to build the Hornets girls basketball program since the 2015-2016 season. Each season seems to unleash untapped talent.
“The whole idea of coaching is putting people in a position to do what they can do and keep them out of the positions they can’t do,” coach Munro said.
Sly Crowley has excelled going into her sophomore year, with over 165 points and over 90 rebounds to date, and there are still over ten more games to go in the season.
“We are starting to see those things,” coach Munro said. “The game is starting to slow down for her, that’s growth and maturity.”
Weeki Wachee’s Sy Crowley broke a school record on Friday night playing against Nature Coast Tech. On Jan. 21, 2018, Corbett set the school game point record, scoring 28 points on Palm Harbor University. But on Friday night, Dec. 20, Crowley beat that record by one point.
“At the beginning of the season, I was nervous because I always had to think, but then I was told when I think it makes it harder for me, and I make bad decisions. When I don’t think it’s easier and I play ball, it makes everything easier,” Crowley said. “I feel like I did great, I worked as a teammate.”
Crowley described her goals:
“I want to get better, just grow. I want to jump higher,” Crowley said. With two more seasons, a slam dunk could be in her future.
With the holiday break, both teams can get that time to revamp for the upcoming holiday tournaments. Weeki Wachee will participate in the Hernando Winter Tournament starting on Jan. 1, 2020 at Hernando High School, and Nature Coast Tech will be at the Academy of Holy Names Dec. 28 in Tampa.
