Falcons close in, then fade: Girls 5A basketball

By Keith Niebuhr
Published February 8, 2008

TAMPA - Consistency, or a lack thereof, has been an issue throughout the season, and unfortunately for Dunedin that didn't change with the arrival of the playoffs. Hot one moment, cold the next, the Falcons had trouble piecing together strong play for more than a few minutes at a time Thursday night falling 53-43 to Plant.

"We've been up and down all year," Dunedin coach Dustin Bengston said. "We just couldn't keep it going the whole game The effort was there, but we had too many breakdowns."

The biggest of which came late in the fourth.

The Falcons had a chance to tie or take the lead near the three-minute mark, but before they got a shot off Plant guard Michelle Taylor made a crucial steal, raced the length of the floor and converted a layup. She then scored four points in the next two minutes to help Plant seal it.

At the start of the fourth, the Panthers (24-4) led by 11 and seemed to be in control after a 15-4 run. But Dunedin (17-8), sparked by two 3-pointers from Cara Trudell, quickly cut into the lead. A Jenae Swann layup with 3:20 left made it 44-42 Plant, but that was as close as the Falcons would get thanks to Taylor, who scored a game-high 21 points.

Trudell led Dunedin with 16 points.

[Last modified February 8, 2008, 10:35:12]