The junior point guard scores 24 to lead Clearwater over Northwest Miami Christian in the Karp Classic final.
By JEREMY WRITT
Published December 20, 2003
CLEARWATER - Leaders are often born out of adversity. In basketball, the leader is most often the point guard. Clearwater's Nicole Ryan played that role perfectly Friday as the Tornadoes beat Northwest Miami Christian, 49-44. Clearwater won the Karp Classic game despite shooting only 37 percent from the field.
"Nicole is our leader and she just did what she had to do again tonight," Clearwater coach Tom Shaneyfelt said.
The score was tied after one quarter but the Eagles pulled ahead by 17-15 at halftime. Their first lead came with 3:03 left in the second quarter. Clearwater, which shot poorly all night, 17-of-53, looked sluggish on offense during this stretch and didn't score again until the third quarter.
After trading early second-half baskets, the Tornadoes again lost their offensive flow. Ryan took it upon herself to change that trend. The Eagles had a 25-22 lead with 2:52 left in the third when Ryan took over. She scored 17 of Clearwater's final 27 points. The junior point guard led all scorers with 24 points.
"She's been known for two years around the county as a passer and defender," Shaneyfelt said of Ryan. "Now she is showing that when we need her to score she can."
She repeatedly beat man-to-man coverage and penetrated all the way to the basket.
It's something I try to do as part of my game," Ryan said. "We weren't hitting our threes, which is how we normally score so we had to bring it inside."
The Eagles tried fouling her but that was equally unsuccessful. Ryan was 12 of 13 from the free-throw line and had 20 points in the second half.
