One early morning phone call was all it took to turn the Lakewood girls' basketball season upside down.

Head Coach Nicole Tunsil will never forget the early morning phone call that changed her girls' season.

"It was probably five thirty or six o'clock, and they said, coach the gym is on fire."

An early morning fire in September during renovations to their gym had damaged parts of the floor and left last year's 6-A state semifinalists without a home court for the season.

"It's going to give the girls the opportunity to grow up on the road," said Coach Nicole.

"We communicate more because we're on the bus," said Nykisha Macon, one of the team's leading scorers and three returning seniors on the Spartans squad.

Every practice starts with a 15-minute bus ride from the high school to Gladden Park, their permanent practice spot. The team will play it's home games at Bay Point Middle School.

Coach Nicole credits the fast work of Al Bennett of the Pinellas County School Board for going out and making arrangements for the team to play as quickly as he did. Erin Savage of Gladden Park is responsible for the girls practicing at her facility every day.

"The only thing I can control is our play and our intensity," said Tunsil.

The Spartans opened the season by hosting their own tournament at Boca Ciega High School.

The Lakewood girls hope to be back in their gym by Christmas break but there are no guarantees and they are prepared to spend the entire season on the road right up to what they hope will be a state championship.

"If you overcome this how would the rest of the county or the rest of Florida look at you," said Coach Nicole. "They come in and win a state championship without a gym."

Anything is possible.