February 15, 2024
Leesburg Lady Yellow Jackets Secure Thrilling Victory against Lake Wales 37-35 Advance to Regional Semifinals
By Kyle Coppola
Leesburg Lady Yellow Jackets Secure Thrilling Victory against Lake Wales 37-35 Advance to Regional Semifinals
The Leesburg High School girls basketball team emerged victorious in a nail-biting encounter against Lake Wales, securing their ticket to the second round of the playoffs. From the onset, it was evident that this matchup would be closely contested, with Lake Wales struggling with turnovers and Leesburg facing challenges penetrating the net, forcing them to rely on outside shots.
Fortunately, Ariyana Hester provided the momentum Leesburg needed, delivering an impressive 20-point performance. Heading into the fourth quarter, Leesburg found themselves trailing by three points. However, with Hester in foul trouble and ultimately fouling out with just around three minutes left, the pressure was on.
In a tense finale, with the clock ticking under two minutes, Saige McCloud, fiercely guarded by Lake Wales throughout the night, seized an opportunity under the basket. Her crucial go-ahead layup secured the victory for Leesburg, allowing them to advance to the next round of the playoffs.
(Head Coach Sean Campbell made an inspiring speech to his team between the 3rd and 4th quarter. With their season on the line and Leesburg down by 3 points, they would mount a comeback and win the game 37-35 to keep their season alive.)
Despite a well-rounded effort from Lake Wales, their mistakes down the stretch proved costly. The Lady Yellow Jackets now look ahead to a challenging matchup against Spoto, who pulled off a remarkable upset against Gateway. The game is set to take place at Leesburg on February 19th at 7 pm.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
