SPRING HILL – On Friday night, the Springstead Eagles (15-4) downed the Weeki Wachee Hornets (15-5) in a hard fought 52-38 matchup at Greg O’Connell Court. Coach Zach Anspach and the Eagles held off several rallies by the Green and Black and pulled away late to take a crucial victory.
“It was a big atmosphere – rivalry games. We were basically going for the GC8 championship tonight […] They just care so much about each other. In these kind of games, in these kind of moments, that is so important because when stuff goes bad, they have to come even closer together. So, I am really happy with us tonight. It is always a crazy matchup when we play over the last five-six years.”
With this win, they are currently sitting at zero losses in the GC8 with Weeki Wachee having now suffered two defeats at the hands of the Eagles. Friday’s matchup was a deceptively close win despite the 14-point differential.
Weeki Wachee answered the call nearly every time, but the Eagles would prove to be too much. After a close first frame which saw Hornets Sophomore Karly Pasmore tie the game at 7-all at the buzzer, Springstead opened up their second largest lead of the night.
Over the first 5:46 of the second quarter, the home team outscored the visitors 14-2 with four different players (with 6 from Junior Briana Coleman). The Hornets would quickly begin to flip the script, though, by scoring the final 7 points before the intermission thanks in large part to Sophomore Joelys Rodriguez (21 points).
While Coach Anspach noted that they may not have players that jump out on the stat sheet like Rodriguez, but the Eagles have a deep squad in their own right. Sophomore PF Brooke Smith is a great example of one such player who may go unsung but can win 50-50 balls and rebounds.
“We are eight-nine-deep that can play consistently and do what they need to […] Brooke Smith, she’s not a big scorer, but she does so many things that don’t show up on the stat sheet. […] I know we are a young basketball team and we are going to make mistakes and it is part of that balance,” said Coach Anspach.
Coming out of the half, Eagles Senior Emily Brown immediately knocked down a three to put her squad back up eight, but the Hornets scrapped and outscored the home team 13-10 in the third period.
Then Freshman Ariana Willoughby made a key contribution late. With her team clinging to a two-point lead at the start of the final frame, she immediately sunk a trey seconds into the quarter. Then, she bookended the period making four out of six free throws and another shot from downtown in the final three minutes.
Over this stretch, the Eagles would outscore the visitors 14-4, with Willoughby’s help, to open up their largest lead of the game at the best time – at the buzzer.
“She is a freshman,” said the Eagles’ coach. “I think she is eighth in the state in 5A in made threes and she is just learning. That is the scary part for everybody. She is getting to understand the offense. She is getting used to high school basketball.”
When Coach Anspach arrived, Weeki Wachee “had our number,” but now they are battling out at the top of their conference. “We built something here and it is special. They work hard. They are hungry.”
Currently seeded second among their cohort, the Eagles have positioned themselves nicely for the playoffs. With tough teams such as Leesburg and Vanguard in their district, though, Coach Anspach and company are focused on “getting better” and “clean things up” with the postseason on the horizon.
