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Pirates top Warhawks

 
Published Jan. 8, 2005|Updated Aug. 24, 2005

Boca Ciega coach Will White summarized it perfectly.

"This game belongs to all of them," White said. "They just decided not to let it happen again."

What the Pirates did was mount a determined four-quarter comeback, overcoming a 10-point deficit after three periods to knot it at 51-all and force overtime. And in that additional four minutes, a driving, off-balance shot from the paint by Tiffany Williams with 20 seconds left proved to be the clincher in Bogies' 60-57 triumph.

The loss was the first of the season suffered by Seminole, leaving them at 13-1 while Boca Ciega improved to 8-4. It also regained some prestige for the Pirates, who had lost nine times in their last 10 meetings with Seminole.

"The big difference was our free-throw shooting," said Warhawks' coach Dave Swanson, noting his team's 4-of-13 performance at the line."We're usually a team that doesn't lose its composure, but we did tonight."

The game certainly started the way Seminole wanted it to. The Warhawks hit six of their first eight floor shots and led 13-5 before the first quarter was half over.

But Boca Ciega would not go away. After trailing 21-14 after one period, they battled back to make it 30-26 at the half. Four three-pointers in the third quarter - two by Kedra Harvey in the final minute - gave Seminole its 48-38 lead entering the fourth.

Their offense, however, deserted them. The Hawks did not score again until just 1:03 remained as Boca Ciega rattled off 11-straight points to take a one-point lead.

Chelsea Patterson's three-point play allowed Seminole to take a two-point edge with 1:03 left, but Williams' basket six seconds later knotted it at 51-all, eventually leading to overtime.

The Hawks converted just 2-of-8 from the floor in the extra period, scoring just nine points in the last 12 minutes.

Ashley Williams led Boca Ciega with 21 points. Tiffany Williams and Tashira Copeland each netted 15. Patterson's 24 was best for Seminole, with Allie Fogle getting 13 and Harvey 12.