CLARION, Pa. — A roller-coaster ride through the District 9 Class AA girls basketball championship game ended on a sour note for the Curwensville Area High School team last night when Karns City\’s Lady Gremlins outscored the Lady Tide 13-3 in the final 6:17 for a 42-33 win in Clarion University\’s Tippin Gym.
Curwensville erased deficits of nine points in the first quarter to forge a tie and seven points in the third period to lead twice by one point before faltering down the stretch.
The Lady Tide still was very much in the hunt for the school\’s first district title when sophomore Hannah Walls topped off her 19-point night with a free throw that left Karns City in front 36-33 with 2:04 remaining.
Unfortunately, the Lady Gremlins scored the last six points, including a back-breaking drive through the Lady Tide zone by defensive ace Tausha Bower with 1:48 to play. Ashley Campbell and Allyson Kepple tacked on pairs of free throws in the final 52 seconds to wrap up Karns City\’s fifth championship in six years and eighth in the last 13 seasons.
While the Curwensville players couldn\’t mask their disappointment, coach Vic Gearhart had a different reaction.
\”I\’m proud of these girls,\” he said minutes after the presentation of awards to both teams. \”Nobody ever thought they\’d be in this game, and I think there\’s a lot of people who doubted they could be competitive in this game. And they were.
\”They have nothing to be ashamed of. They\’ve given me everything this year. I wouldn\’t even say they overachieved. They played to the best of their ability. They proved they should have been in the championship game tonight. I think there are a lot of people who didn\’t feel that way, but I don\’t know how they could argue that point after seeing this.\”
Curwensville, which fell to 21-7, kept making it interesting even though Karns City took high-scoring seniors Dani Struble and Jackie White out of the offense with a triangle-and-two defense. Struble, who was averaging a District 9-leading 19.4 points, had Tausha Bower on her hip all night and mustered only two field goals, both in the first half. White, who was averaging 12.2 points, finished with six as Kylee Rankin and Michelle Sweeney took turns hounding her.
Struble, who had scored 30 points at Clearfield Wednesday night, never was able to get open looks, either off the dribble or when she rubbed off picks.
\”She\’s not going to when they\’re playing her that closely,\” Gearhart said. \”It wasn\’t her (Bowser) that was the problem. It was the triangle. They got good help from the back line on their triangle. And that\’s what it\’s designed to do. We just needed to get somebody inside that could power through. And we didn\’t have that player.
\”They did a heck of a job on Dani. There was no place for her to go. They give a lot of offside help. And if she would get free, we just weren\’t ever in position to get her the basketball. I would have liked to have seen her drive a little bit more.
\”It wasn\’t like we didn\’t come down and get shots off. We found the person that was hot. Dani was creating shots for Hannah. And she had her career night, I\’m sure.\”
Early on, Curwensville struggled to find ways to score and fell behind 12-3, with Walls\’ three-pointer from outside the only points. Kepple banked in a long three and added a jumper and a driving layup for Karns City.
However, the Lady Tide fought back with an 8-3 run in the final three minutes of the quarter to trail only 15-11. Walls scored two more times with a short jumper and a scooping layup on one of the few times a Curwensville player was able to drive to the basket.
Curwensville tied the game at 18 with 3:38 left in the half as Struble popped in a jumper after an offensive rebound, Ronna Knepp sank two foul shots and Walls nailed another three-pointer from the top of the key.
Struble and Walls were charged with their third fouls while Karns City was pulling away to a 25-20 halftime lead, a low-scoring third quarter seemed just the tonic for the Lady Tide. After Bower drove through the 3-2 zone in the first minute for what turned out to be the Lady Gremlins\’ only points of the period, White and Walls netted four points apiece to put Curwensville ahead for the first time, 28-27.
\”We were pretty happy where we were,\” Gearhart said. \”We kept our two girls out of foul trouble. I thought we were in a good situation. We\’ve had a lot of tight games this year.\”
After a drive by Kepple, Walls connected from the right wing to give Curwensville its last lead at 30-29. Sweeney\’s shot from the right corner put Karns City ahead to stay, 31-30, with 6:17 left. In a key sequence that ensued, Haley Callihan blocked Struble\’s baseline jumper, maintained possession and triggered a fast break that Ashley Campbell punctuated.
After Callihan fired in a three-pointer from the left wing to make it 36-30 with 4:10 left, Walls scored the next three points, but they proved to be the Lady Tide\’s last gasp.
\”We had a couple misses that went in and out and we had a couple defensive breakdowns, where we just let them drive through the zone,\” Gearhart summed up the final quarter. \”Then we got to the point where we had to foul to put them on the line. We wasted too much time getting to our seventh foul. Strategically, that was my fault. We needed to foul a little bit sooner.\”
With the shooting percentages virtually the same, Curwensville at 30.2 (13-for-43) and Karns City at 29.4 (15-for-51), rebounding was magnified because the Lady Gremlins\’ 32-27 advantage was predicated on 19 offensive boards.
\”That\’s plagued us all year,\” Gearhart said. \”We just give up defensive position and end up under the hoop instead of backing off. You preach it, you practice it and you get to the game, they fall back into old habits. I don\’t think they killed us inside, but they certainly got second chances.\”
Kepple scored 16 points and Callihan 12 for Karns City, which will take a 21-5 record into the PIAA Playoffs against the 7-5 entry, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart or Shadyside Academy.
The season isn\’t over yet for Curwensville, either, but the first inter-district game in school history will be a tough one, a road trip into District 7 Friday to play the winner of today\’s championship game between Ford City (25-2) or Greensburg Central Catholic (20-6).
\”We have a pretty bit task ahead of us,\” Gearhart said. \”We\’re looking at it as a bonus. It\’s a reward for a good season. It\’ll be a good experience just to go down there. It\’s great for the program. And it\’s great for these kids. We got extra ball games out of this season, so everything\’s a positive at this point.\”
He added, \”I just want to thank all the fans for the support we\’ve gotten through the playoffs, especially this evening. We had a good turnout. I know the girls were appreciative of the support we got from the school and the community.\”
CURWENSVILLE — 33
Dani Struble 2 0-1 4, Hannah Walls 8 1-2 19, Ronna Knepp 0 2-2 2, Holly Fink 0 0-0 0, Jackie White 2 2-2 6, Holly Lansberry 1 0-0 2. Totals: 13 5-7 33.
KARNS CITY — 42
Tausha Bower 2 0-2 4, Allyson Kepple 6 2-2 16, Ashley Campbell 2 4-8 8, Haley Callihan 4 2-3 12, Kylee Rankin 0 0-0 0, Michelle Sweeney 1 0-0 2, Julia Zaludek 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 8-15 42.
Three-Point Field Goals: Curwensville 2 (Walls 2); Karns City 4 (Kepple 2, Callihan 2).
Score by Quarters:
Curwensville 11 9 8 5 — 33
Karns City 15 10 2 15 — 42
