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Clearwater's fifth trip to semis feels different

CLEARWATER -- For Tom Shaneyfelt, the drive to The Lakeland Center is familiar. In fact, the coach probably has taken his Clearwater teams there more often in nine seasons on the job than he has to some county schools.

Yet success has not come as often in Polk County as it has in Pinellas.

When the Tornadoes take the floor tonight against Winter Springs, it will mark the fifth time under Shaneyfelt Clearwater has reached the state semifinals. Only once, in 1997, has it reached the final. That season, the Tornadoes lost by 30 to Tallahassee Godby. Until tipoff tonight, no one knows if this team can be the second to advance to the final or even the first to win. For Clearwater, however, getting to Lakeland was not a pie-in-the-sky blind hope, but an expectation.

And that, perhaps, is a start.

"The times we've gone to state, other than this year, I felt each time that we overachieved a little bit to get there," Shaneyfelt said. "This year, I think we probably have pretty much just taken care of business.

"I like this team's chances of going all the way because of the fact that they have been able to find a way to play with anybody."

By any measure, Clearwater, 32-1 and ranked no lower than No.2 in the state all season, has had a season for the ages.

Its 32 wins are a school record. Every county game was decided by double digits. Out-of-area teams it has beaten include several that are ranked, including a 4A final four team in Winter Haven.

Its average margin of victory is 32.7 points.

With such success, it also stands to reason that only what Clearwater does this week matters. That's fine, too.

Dominique Redding and Kasie Muchler remember the Tornadoes' last trip to Lakeland in 2000, when Hollywood South Broward prevailed and won the title.

Redding said she is convinced that experience plus this season's team will add up to more.

"I remember I didn't play well. My body was there, but my mind wasn't," she said. "I guess I was so in awe that we made it there.

"But this time, I feel we're going to do something. It's not good enough just to make it anymore."

GIRLS BASKETBALL 5A STATE SEMIFINAL

WHO: Clearwater (32-1) vs. Winter Springs (28-4).

WHEN: 8:30 p.m. today.

WHERE: The Lakeland Center.

ADMISSION: $6.

IF YOU GO: Take I-275 to I-4, Exit 17 (Kathleen Road). Turn right on Kathleen and continue to Sikes Boulevard. Bear right at yield sign and turn right at second light (Lime Street). Arena will be on the right.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Clearwater beat Boca Ciega 68-47, Punta Gorda Charlotte 71-46 and Fort Myers 65-48. Winter Springs beat Deltona Pine Ridge 79-38, Durant 60-30 and Daytona Beach Mainland 68-50.

THE SKINNY: Finally, Clearwater has arrived. For the Tornadoes, ranked No.2 in the state, regional and district play was a cinch, building up to where they were expected to land all season. In Lakeland, though, there are no pushovers -- and certainly not with Winter Springs. The fourth-ranked Bears lost the 6A state final last season but won the 6A title in 2000 and 3A in 1999. Their regional run was even more impressive than Clearwater's, with three victories by an average of nearly 30 points. Six-footer Jen Forst is the Bears' top player and scored 30 points in the victory at Mainland. "In the last four years of watching them, I think they're the most fundamentally sound team that I've seen in Florida," Clearwater coach Tom Shaneyfelt said.

NEXT: The winner plays Hollywood South Broward or Fort Walton Beach at 7 p.m. Friday. They play in the first semifinal at 2:30 p.m.

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