February 26, 2009
Digital Sports

Eleanor Roosevelt 68, Largo 52
Point guard, shooting guard, it did not matter what position Eleanor Roosevelt Lady Raiders senior guard Noel Bullock played Wednesday night in the county championship game against the Largo Lady Lions.
 

Naturally a shooting guard --known for her three-point shooting-- Bullock was inserted into the role of point guard Wednesday night due to a knee injury to starting point guard Nickia Gibbs.

Bullock played a vital role in Roosevelt's 68-52 victory over Largo with her 17 points and high-level of consistency running the Lady Raiders' offense.

"Oh, my goodness," was the first response from Roosevelt head coach Rod Hairston upon hearing Bullock's name post-game. "Noel Bullock did a tremendous job today. She stepped up and filled in that gap that we needed. We needed that play from the point guard position.

"She did a great job taking care of the basketball, and did a tremendous job with Largo's pressure. She handled it like the veteran that she is. I wasn't surprised with the job that she did, but I definitely was impressed."

"My coaches have been telling me all season that we have to take care of the ball," Bullock said. "We have to make sure we get it into the post, get it to the wings so, basically, what I was focusing on was making sure I handled the ball and I didn't turn it over."

Bullock indeed followed the coach's game plan of getting it into the post as most of her interior passes headed in the direction of Olivia Applewhite as Applewhite found much success inside of the paint.

Applewhite led all scorers with 23 points in the victory.

However, even with the win, the Lady Raiders remained composed after the game with sights set on another one of its goals, a fifth consecutive state championship.

"It feels good," Applewhite said of the county title. "This was not our main goal, but it feels good to get the [win]."

On her inside presence, Applewhite added: "We knew they were going to be small and we were going to pound the ball inside."

The turning point of the game may have come in the second quarter as the Roosevelt defense held Largo to five points, giving the Lady Raiders enough cushion to earn a victory.

"I think [Largo head coach] Ayana [Ball-Ward] does a great job with that team," Hairston said. "We were definitely aware of their ability to score and that's what we focused on."

Brittany Taylor led all Largo -- the No. 1 seed in the upcoming 3A South playoffs-- scorers with 15 points on the night.

Eleanor Roosevelt 68, Largo 52
Largo -- 15 5 16 16; Taylor 15, Lyons 12, T. Johnson 6, C. Johnson 6, S. Johnson 5, Stern 2, Holland 2, Maxwell 2, Winslow 2

Roosevelt -- 22 21 15 10; Applewhite 23, Bullock 17, A. Hall 7, E. Hall 7, Revis 6, Gibbs 4, Mallory 2, Chicbu 2

E-mail: James A. McCray III