Hoops Nena -- the blog

Lafayette (Mayo) head coach Jimmy Blankenship said he entered his team in the Perry and Mark McGriff State Farm Insurance/Kiwanis Club of Gainesville Invitational Tournament at Gainesville High School in the hope of checking out regional rival Father Lopez of Daytona. “They’re probably one of the major teams we’ll have to go through in order to get to Lakeland,” he said. Both teams got a good look at each other in the 54-51 Lopez win, although it’s unclear how accurate that look was. Mayo’s Natalie Land, who surpassed 3,000 career points a few weeks ago and who is averaging over 21 ppg this season, was held to only six points on this game with a three-pointer and three free throws. “I think it’s the first time in her career she hasn’t scored a two-point field goal,” Blankenship said. He noted that both teams looked a little rusty, and wondered if the Lopez on the court today would be the team they’d face later in the season. If it is, Mayo has a lot to look forward to. Lopez freshman guard Cassie Peoples scored 30 of her team’s 54 points. On defense, she was part of a double or triple team assigned to guard Land. “I just keep thinking, if we played them that close without (Land) scoring, we ought to do a lot better when she’s having her normal game,” Blankenship said. As exciting as it was to watch Land in her senior season – and even when she’s not scoring, she does everything else – the thrill of this game was seeing the outstanding youngsters. Besides Lopez’ Peoples, Mayo had freshman Cartaesha Macklin and sophomore Sunshine Reid, who between them scored 31 of their team’s points. Father Lopez took a strong lead in the first half, going up 27-19 by the break. A 21-point third quarter from Mayo, which included 10 points from Reid, trimmed the Greenwaves’ lead to one. The two sides traded leads through the fourth quarter until, with six seconds left, Land was called for traveling on her way to the basket. On Lopez’ next possession, Peoples was fouled and made both shots to set the lead at 54-51 Greenwaves, where it stayed as time expired. Florida women’s basketball head coach Amanda Butler was on hand to get a wistful look at Land, who has committed to University of Central Florida for softball, and also, presumably, to see the red-hot Peoples. As a bonus, Reid and Macklin also got looks, as Butler told Blankenship she is trying to get to know coaches and players in the outlying areas of Gainesville. Leading scorers: Fr. Lopez: Cassie Peoples, 30 Lafayette (Mayo): Sunshine Reid, 19; Cartaesha Macklin, 17

# posted by Jmac @ 9:12 PM