OT loss brings sudden close to South's remarkable debut

Walking into an empty classroom on the second floor of South Fort Myers High School was about the last place the Wolfpack girls basketball team wanted to be at 2 p.m. on Friday.

Instead of working up a sweat in the gym while practicing plays for a district championship game or honing free-throw skills for regionals, the team that came so far, so quickly, trudged into the classroom for a season-ending meeting with coach Bob Batson.

Seventeen hours earlier, South's remarkable inaugural season — one which produced a 22-5 record, a 12-game winning streak and at one point a top 15 state ranking — came to a painful conclusion with a 47-36 overtime loss to Dunbar in a District 4A-11 semi-final.

"I told them to remember this feeling. You don't want to have this feeling again," Batson said Friday.

"It came down to the inexperience of our team," added junior guard and co-captain Sara Kissinger. "We've got to grow on that."

A few weeks ago, Batson pointed out that he believes all the pressure in the district tournament comes in the semi-final games because the winners automatically clinch regional berths while the losers go home. Win or lose, participants in the championship game get another day.

With a 6-1 district record, South was seeded second behind Lemon Bay. The Wolfpack, which hosted the tournament, beat No. 7 Clewiston, 60-33, before getting bounced by No. 3 Dunbar.

Just two weeks after missing a chance to beat South on a last-second shot, Dunbar exacted revenge by sinking two of three free throws in the last second to tie the game at 36-36 and then producing an 11-0 binge in overtime for the win.

"I thought we were pretty prepared, but I didn't have them as prepared as they should have been to handle some of the situations that came up at the end of the game that we practiced, but we didn't practice enough," said Batson. "The kids kept their composure and kept working hard, but they were in situations that they hadn't been in before and I think there was a little tentativeness at times."

South was hampered by a 7-for-16 night at the foul line.

Leading by two points in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, Batson opted to try to foul after an in-bounds because South was four fouls under the limit.

"I told the kids when they pass the ball in, foul immediately. Don't foul when they're shooting. I thought we did that," said Batson. "They didn't call a foul. The kid went up and shot and then they called a foul. Had they called the first one, it might have been a different ending.

"I second-guessed myself all last night. Maybe don't say anything and let them shoot it and go with that, but they've got some shooters on that team. I would probably do the same thing again."

The ending — as heart-breaking as it was for the young Wolfpack — can't erase a memorable first season, one that put South Fort Myers on the high school athletic map.

But how could a first year program that had no team in summer leagues and no off-season regiment suddenly emerge as one of Lee County's top teams within a handful of months?

Players point to a very cohesive group — on and off the court — as one reason for their success.

"On the weekends, we all try to hang out with each other," said junior forward and co-captain Carey Fullilove, who had a team-high 10 points in the semi-final. "We're all like best friends, and we're all really dedicated to basketball. In-season, we don't go out and party and stay out late."

Another key was the Wolfpack's two seniors. Even though guard Annie Coates and center Clare Naponick saw their playing time shared or surpassed by younger players, both played vital roles in the formation of a winning attitude.

"It's not going to be the same next year without our two seniors," said freshman center Madison Wagner. "They really brought the team together."

At the other end of the grade spectrum, players such as Wagner, freshman guard Emily Cattanach and sophomore guard Takara Harris provided much more than a youthful boost.

Wagner, who came to South from Pennsylvania at the start of the academic year, turned her full attention to basketball after finishing fifth in the 100 meter backstroke at the Class 2A swimming final. She led the team in rebounds (164) and blocks (40). Wagner scored a game-high 16 points in the quarter-final win against Clewiston.

Cattanach, the first — and so far only — member of South's girls golf team, finished as the leading scorer with 9.6 points per game. She also had a team-high 121 assists.

Harris, who came to South from North Fort Myers High, led the way in 3-pointers (30) and steals (109).

Despite impressive offensive numbers, not one Wolfpack averaged double digit scoring, but that was not a concern.

"No one is a superstar on our team," said Wagner. "We all have an equal share in it."

That includes Batson, too, whom players credited with guiding a smooth ship.

"He's very knowledgeable," said Wagner. "At practices before a game, he knew exactly what (the opposition) would do, and he'd help us set up offenses and defenses to work around that."

"We couldn't have done it without coach," added Fullilove.

Thursday's semi-final loss not only robbed South of a chance to play for the district title, but it also prevented them from gaining valuable state tournament experience.

"It would have been worth its weight in gold," said Batson. "It gives you a lot of confidence. You get another week or two of practice. You play against better teams. It's the whole concept and atmosphere and the preparedness. You can't duplicate that any other way."

The Wolfpack plan to be active this summer by participating in summer leagues and camps, which they've been raising funds for throughout the season.

Batson also wants his team to hit the weights, especially in the wake of Thursday's loss to an aggressive Dunbar team.

"They have a much more physical team," said Batson. "They pushed us around a little bit. The officials called that kind of game. We're just not yet as physical as we need to be. We don't grab. We don't do a lot of things other teams do. We're not as strong as other teams because we haven't had the opportunity to get strong, but we will."