Clearwater Takes Control of North County PCAC

On Friday night, the two best teams in North Pinellas faced off in an intense battle at Clearwater High School. The winner of this game will likely be the North County PCAC champ, and Clearwater (6-2)  made it happen on their home turf against Tarpon Springs (5-2). The Spongers led after one behind ten points from Anabel Ellison (12-11), but it was all Clearwater after that. They face-guarded, double-teamed, and did whatever was necessary to slow Anabel down on offense. She only ended up scoring six more points after the first quarter to lead all scorers with 16 total, but she distributed the ball very well which was fine with Clearwater. The Tornadoes decided they'd rather let the rest of the team try to beat them than let Anabel score all over them. The game went to half with a 26-22, the third ended at 32-28, and the final was 43-33 all in favor of Clearwater. Here were some of the key players on Friday night:   Clearwater Tornadoes Ace Sturdivant (Fr.) - She iced this game late by making 6 of 6 from the free throw line, and she led her team in scoring with 15 total points. Ace scored from all over, handled the ball, and make some clean passes like she always does. She was my MVP in this one. D'Mya Ferguson (Sr.) - Ferg is starting to catch her wind as she is just getting back on the court. She's playing better each and every game, and this team will be hard to beat once she gets in a groove. D'Mya put up 9 points in the win, and she is an big upgrade for this team on the boards as a true post (she can handle the ball too, though). Jade Price (Fr.) - This is a player that I didn't know a lot about going into the season, but I think she could be a really nice player if she continues to improve with the frame she already has. Jade scored 6 points, and is a strong piece to this young team. Olivia "Liv" Fuller (Fr.) - As another Freshman, Liv is always going to contribute even when she has an off night offensively or finds herself in foul trouble. She almost always the best hops in the gym and plays as hard as anyone in the county. Liv is all over the boards, on the floor for loose balls, and up in the face of the other team looking for a steal or turnover.   Tarpon Springs Spongers Anabel Ellison (Sr.) - I don't think there is a better player in Pinellas County, and she is even one of the best in the entire Tampa Bay area. Anabel is committed to D1 Marist, and she is the real deal. She's the nucleus of this team, and they will only go as far as she will take them (which could be pretty far). Anabel scored 16 on the night with 9 of those points coming from long range. She has elite handles, shooting, and passing with no real weaknesses in her offensive game. She's got a high basketball IQ and was good at anticipating what Clearwater was going to do on the other end. Anabel is a great kid on and off the court, and a player that youngins should look up to. Isabella Gheesling (So.) - She was the primary beneficiary of the other team dogging Anabel all night, and she put in some tough shots to help keep Tarpon in the game. Isabella scored 9 points on buckets that were facilitated from Anabel, and she did a good job executing on those passes.   Clearwater is off until after Christmas when they head to the Suncoast Classic. Tarpon has a tough matchup against Wesley Chapel on the 20th before they head to the Queen of Palms tournament after the break.