Guards Nicole Ryan and Rachel Hammond handle Dillard's press and almost pull out a state title.
By JAMAL THALJI
Published March 6, 2004
LAKELAND - Call it the international sign of frustration: heads thrown back, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, hands jammed against hips.
Top-ranked Fort Lauderdale Dillard's press had destroyed countless teams en route to Friday's Class 5A state championship game. But here in the final, the Panthers suddenly realized it wasn't going to win state for them.
It wasn't going to beat Clearwater.
The fourth-ranked Tornadoes, led by point guard Nicole Ryan and off guard Rachel Hammond, weren't going to get frustrated, weren't going to wilt and certainly weren't going to go away.
It wasn't until after 32 minutes of halfcourt brawling and countless floor burns and pileups that Dillard won its second state title in 22 years with a 58-52 victory. But Clearwater, led by its junior guards, fought and clawed through every minute of it at the Lakeland Center.
"It looked like at certain points that they were just like, "What's going on?"' Ryan said, "because they couldn't crack us."
Never before in Tornadoes coach Tom Shaneyfelt's seven trips to the state semifinals in nine seasons had he been so confident in his backcourt.
"These two are gamers," he said. "I just had so much confidence in their ability out there. I felt more relaxed than any game I've been in at state. They're just in control."
Together, Ryan and Hammond helped their teammates figure out the Panthers' press in the first frantic minutes that saw Dillard squeeze out an 11-6 lead with 2:03 left in the first quarter.
While Ryan struggled to find her shot early, she still made her usual contributions, distributing the ball and guarding the Panthers' top player, Erica Brown.
Hammond carried the offensive load in the first half, scoring six consecutive points to cut the lead to one and sparking a 13-5 run that gave the Tornadoes their first lead. Hammond scored 12 of her 13 during the half then fouled out after 27 minutes on the floor. But she gave all the credit to Ryan.
"She distributed real well, and she found the open people," Hammond said. "She handled the aggressive traps real well, and it just kind of opened up everything."
Then in the second half, Ryan, who played all 32 minutes, found her stroke, scoring 10 of her 17. Both juniors were voted to the 5A all-tournament team.
"These two, Nicole and Rachel, are as good a pair of guards anyone has in the state," Shaneyfelt said.
"I think this was a nice stage to show anyone who hasn't seen them what they're capable of doing."
