Tornadoes pour on the points against Falcons

A spot in the Pinellas County Athletic Conference championship game was on the line. So was the No. 1 seed in the Class 5A, District 9 tournament, which starts in two weeks.

By BOB PUTNAM
Published January 19, 2007

DUNEDIN - This was the game Dunedin had circled on its calender for weeks. A spot in the Pinellas County Athletic Conference championship game was on the line. So was the No. 1 seed in the Class 5A, District 9 tournament, which starts in two weeks.

All the Falcons had to do was beat spoiler Clearwater. It was a tough task considering Dunedin was winless against the Tornadoes the past 11 seasons.

For a while it seemed the Falcons' frustrations would end. With Jenae Swann scoring on the inside, Dunedin stayed in the game, trailing 17-13 after the first period.

Then came the second.

Clearwater went on a tear, outscoring the Falcons 26-6 the rest of the half. The Tornadoes cruised to a 73-37 victory that was so lopsided a running clock was used most of the second half. Clearwater clinched the north spot and will host the PCAC title game Jan. 26 against the winner of tonight's Boca Ciega-Lakewood game.

"It was about as good a game as we've played all season," Tornadoes coach Tom Shaneyfelt said. "We knew coming in here that this was a game Dunedin wanted really bad. I'm proud of the girls for staying focused."

Clearwater (20-1) also had some motivation entering the game. The Tornadoes needed two wins, counting Thursday's game, for Shaneyfelt to reach the 500-win plateau.

He moved one step closer to that mark thanks to a balanced attack (10 players scored against the Falcons). Sellina Thomas and Brittany Carannante each had 16 points for Clearwater.

Tonight, Shaneyfelt can get his 500th win against Pinellas Park.

[Last modified January 18, 2007, 23:07:14]