Spoto's DeAndra Davis signs with NC A&T

[captaggie]

hometeam.tampabay.com/blog/2009/nov/11/spotos-davis-signs-nc-t/


Spoto basketball standout DeAndra Davis has never had her mother too far away from her.

Mareka Davis has missed just two games in her daughter's basketball career. She's been her club and youth coach since she was 11.

And as DeAndra Davis signed her national letter of intent to attend North Carolina A&T Wednesday, a proud coach and mother was by her side, letting go as her daughter wrote her signature on a stack of papers.

"It's a relief to know this day has finally come," Davis said. "I've been waiting for this day since forever. I'm glad to see all the hard work pay off."

This summer, Mareka, a well-known local club coach was hired as Spoto's new head coach. DeAndra, who was about to enter her senior season at Armwood, but transferred to Spoto to play for her mom...


Entire Article

[Maxell]

Great quote from the article:

"If I didn't go on a visit, I wouldn't have known it was the right fit for me," she said. "At other schools it looked good and sounded good but when I was at A&T, it felt good. I felt like I was supposed to be there. I felt like I was in good hands"

[captaggie]

BOT

I agree Maxell, that it a great quote.

[Bornthrilla]

www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jan/12/sp-huge-win-excites-spoto/

Notebook: Win over Plant key for young Spoto

By KATHERINE SMITH | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 12, 2010

TAMPA - Spoto coach Mareka Davis knew this was going to be a rebuilding year.

With seven underclassmen on the roster and only four seniors, the first-year coach had her work cut out for her. Davis got a big assist, in the form of a defining victory, when Spoto (13-4) upset Plant 53-48 Wednesday night.

"That was huge," Davis said. "For years, Plant's been a school with a tradition of winning and in order for us to move forward, we need to beat teams like that."

The victory kept Spoto perfect at home, improving their homecourt record to 7-0. Almost impressive as the victory itself was the fact the Spartans were coming off a disappointing loss to Jefferson the previous night. Spoto led the Dragons by as much as 11 in the first half, only to watch Jefferson rally in the second half for the 74-59 victory.

Against Plant (10-6), the two teams battled back and forth in the first half, with the Spartans trailing by six. Spoto overcame a 32-point effort by Panthers senior Michelle Taylor and pulled ahead in the second half with senior DeAndra Davis scoring 15 of her 19 points.

"The girls were very excited," Davis said. "They didn't show a lot of emotion on the court afterward because we practice sportsmanship and we knew it had to be a tough loss for Plant.

"But when we got into the locker room, the girls were screaming."

Seemingly energized, the Spartans followed up the biggest win of the young program's history with a 96-60 victory against Steinbrenner. Sophomore Chelsea White, Spoto's leader in assists with an average of 5.6 per game, led her team with a game-high 32 points, while DeAndra Davis contributed 31.

Next up for the Spartans is a game on Friday against Wharton, a team that has won nine of its past 10 games.

"We absolutely feel very confident heading into districts," Davis said. "We're going to play every game from now on as if it's our district championship."

One versus two

The top two Hillsborough County leaders in scoring face off for the second time this season on Friday night. Sickles Amber Henson, the county's leading scorer with a 22.6 ppg average, and Freedom's Shaunice Hobbs, who is second with a 19.5 scoring average, will meet at the Patriots gym at 6:30 p.m.

Both are capable of putting up big numbers, but they're not the only ones. In addition to Hobbs, Freedom has two other players averaging double digits in scoring - Kaitlynn Pacholke (14.5) and Lindsay Taggart (11.6). Bre Crum (11.5) is the only other Sickles player averaging double digits.

Sickles (17-2), undefeated in district play, can lock up the No. 1 seed in the Class 5A-District 9 tournament with a victory. Freedom needs a win to keep any chances of a No. 1 seed alive.

In their earlier meeting, Sickles topped Freedom 46-38 on Dec. 11. Henson led the Gryphons with 21 points, while Pacholke led the Patriots with 15 points. Hobbs contributed 13.

Reporter Katherine Smith can be reached at [phone].

[captaggie]

I met both Ms. M & D Davis at the FAMU game and welcomed them to the A&T family.

[Bornthrilla]

You should have told them about this site.

[captaggie]

Ur right. Hopefully, they've already found it on their own or told about it by the players.

[oleschoolaggie]

looks like deandra will easily exceed her 13 ppg average from last season. deandra and the oregon state transfer are the two recruits i'm excited to see the most next year. but ya never know. bibbs could have another sleeper like j. berry under her sleeve that's coming in next year...

[aggierattler]

Great signee, Coach Bibbs!! FAMU's Gibson had her on her radar screen, so it's good to see her going North.

[Bornthrilla]

hometeam.tampabay.com/blog/2010/jan/15/girls-basketball-spotos-davis-reaches-1000-points/

Girls Basketball: Spoto's Davis reaches 1,000 points

Posted on Friday, Jan. 15, 2010 at 11:17 p.m.

By Eduardo A. Encina

Spoto senior DeAndra Davis scored her 1,000th career point Friday night in the Spartans' 74-57 loss to Wharton.

Davis, who scored 19 points on the night, has signed to play D-I basketball at North Carolina A&T.

Davis headed into the game averaging a team-high 15.8 points and 9.2 rebounsds a game this season. She transferred from Armwood this season to play for her mother, first-year Spoto coach Mareka Davis.

Spoto is 13-5.

[krazykev]

Max Preps Player of the Week

Name: Deandra Davis


Jersey # 23 Class: Sr.

Week of: 1/3/2010 - 1/9/2010

Comments: The Player of the week for the Lady Spartans is DeAndra Davis. DeAndra score a total of 64 points this week againt opponents Jefferson, Plant and Steinbrenner High School. The North Carolina A & T recruit scored her season and career high of 31 points in Friday nights game against Steinbrenner High School. Great Job on a great week DeAndra.

www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/_pa05xae_kadCOofDWvoXg/spoto-spartans/girls-basketball/home.htm

[Bornthrilla]

hometeam.tampabay.com/blog/2010/jan/06/9791-spoto-picks-up-big-girls-basketball-win-over-plant/

Spoto picks up big girls basketball win over Plant

By Eduardo A. Encina

RIVERVIEW — Spoto won just five games last season. And even throughout the Spartans' impressive first half of this season, they were still in search of a victory that could validate them as a legitimate program.

Tuesday, Spoto was dealt a 15-point loss by district foe Jefferson. But the Spartans redeemed themselves Wednesday against one of the county's other heavyweights, beating Plant 53-48.

"In order for us to be recognized, we have to beat some of the top teams," Spoto first-year coach Mareka Davis said. "Plant is one of those top teams. "We're on our way. I think we'll get a little more recognition, and teams might be looking for us now."

Spoto (12-4) overcame a six-point halftime deficit and a sensational game by Plant senior Michelle Taylor to earn its biggest win of the season.

"I think it shows people that we can come back from a loss and we can defeat a team that's worth something," Spoto junior Brianna Thomas said. "We're trying to introduce ourselves to Hillsborough County and make a statement. We're going to gain respect, and we're going to fight for it."

Senior DeAndra Davis sparked the Spartans, scoring 15 of her team-high 19 points in the second half. That included going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to ice the game after the Spartans broke open a 39-39 tie with 4:45 remaining with an 8-1 run. Thomas was also a dominating presence inside, scoring most of her 15 points on offensive rebounds.

Taylor, who had 32 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks, was 13-for-25 from the field, but Plant (9-6) shot just 22 percent from the field as a team. It was the Panthers' second tough defeat in as many days, including a three-point one to district rival Wharton on Tuesday.

"Offensively, we've just fallen off the wagon," Plant coach Carrie Mahon said. "We've hit a spot you don't want to be in in January. It's just disappointing we don't have more support for (Taylor) right now.

"We've got three weeks to figure it out."