Lady Spartans top Goshen, lose to O'Neill

Florida - It’s billed as the Spartan Invitational. This year saw a varied mix of teams from Division 3, 4 and 5. The host Lady Spartans and the Chester Hambletonians represented Division 5, James I. O’Neill came over from Division 4 and Goshen from Division 3. The tournament played out with the Spartans topping Goshen in the opening round, 45-35, then losing to O’Neill, 48-44, in the championship round. Goshen downed Chester 40-35 in the consolation game. In that first game against Goshen, Florida fell behind 12-9 in the first quarter and still trailed 19-13 with three minutes gone in the second. Then things turned around. Melissa Oliphant’s driving layup tied the score at 19-19, and Angel Flores’ steal and subsequent layup put the Spartans up 21-19 at half-time. That streak continued into the third quarter with two more quick baskets by Flores and another by Oliphant to cap a 14-0 run. The Gladiators wouldn’t go away, however, and midway of the fourth quarter they managed to tie it up at 33-33. Kylie Burnside’s three-pointer and pinpoint pass to Courtney Howell underneath put Florida back on top 41-33. Florida closed it out with several foul shots to earn a well-deserved 45-35 win. Flores ended up with 13 points, and Burnside hit an even dozen. Oliphant and Kathleen Folkl chipped in with seven apiece. Last Thursday in the championship game Florida stayed close but lost 48-44 to James. I. O’Neill. Selin Tekin, Oliphant and Folkl each scored 11 points for the Spartans. Folkl and Burnside were named to the all-tournament team together with Kathleen Payne from Goshen, Megan Monroe from Chester and Tiana Taylor from O’Neill. O’Neill’s Elizabeth Cannon was voted the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.