Short-handed Lady Dolphins win tourney
GBHS opens season tonight Pace at 6:30 p.
BY JASON THOMPSON Gulf Breeze News jason@gulfbreezenews.com

File Photo Natalie Alverson (left) played all 64 minutes in last week's preseason tournament, leading the Lady Dolphins to two wins.

The Gulf Breeze girls basketball team, playing without two of their starters and one of their key reserves, won a preseason tournament Saturday at West Florida High.

The Lady Dolphins, without Deannette Zuniga, Jamie Beeler and Christine Hay due to injury or illness, defeated Tate 47-38 on Thursday and West Florida 45-19 on Saturday.

Lady Dolphins 47, Tate 38

A 9-3 run in the final six minutes of the game allowed the Lady Dolphins to pull away from Tate Thursday.

Gulf Breeze scored the game's first 10 points, with Tobie Bass scoring six of those 10. Bass finished with eight points (on 4-for-7 shooting) and nine rebounds.

An offensive rebounds and putback by Sarah Munsch, who had four points, five rebounds and three assists, made it 14-6 GBHS after one quarter.

Tate, with only seven players, got to within three late in the first half before Jordan Smith scored to make it 20-15 GBHS at the half.

Smith had six points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.

Sallie Papajohn and Morgan Bass, the team's lone freshmen, were forced to play a lot of minutes in the second after the older Bass and Munsch picked up their fourth fouls in the third quarter.

The younger Bass, who played nine minutes, scored off a pass from Anndrea Marsh to make it 31-18, ending an 11-3 run. But Tate would cut that deficit to six (33-27) after three quarters. Tate got to within five with 5:43 to play before the Lady Dolphins pulled away.

Natalie Alverson, who played all 32 minutes in both games, led all scorers with 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting.

Marsh, who also played all 32 minutes, had four points, six rebounds and three assists in her first varsity game. Papajohn had two points and four rebounds, while Morgan Bass had two points and three rebounds.

Lady Dolphins 45,

West Florida 19

Gulf Breeze blew open the game with a 14-4 third quarter as West Florida shot 2-for-20 from the field in the second half Saturday.

West Florida scored the game's first points before Gulf Breeze scored 14 of the next 16 to end the first quarter. Alverson and Munsch both had four points in the opening quarter, which ended with Gulf Breeze up 14-4.

A free throw got West Florida within seven in the second quarter before GBHS scored seven of the last nine of the first half.

Alverson led Gulf Breeze with 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and six steals, while Munsch and Tobie Bass both had eight. Bass also had 11 rebounds. Marsh had six points and six rebounds, while Smith had four points and six boards.

Papajohn had two points, five rebounds and five steals, while Whitney Harris added two points in the fourt quarter. Morgan Bass had one points and nine rebounds.