HYDE – Clearfield Area High School girls basketball coach Joey Castagnolo hasn\’t had much to smile about the last month, but the Lady Bisons changed that Monday night behind a brilliant performance by junior Sarah Kovalick in her first varsity start.
The 5-6 forward scored 23 points, including five treys, in sparking a season-high offensive output by the Lady Bisons as they pulled away from scrappy Ridgway in the fourth quarter for a 63-41 victory in the Arthur J. Weiss Gymnasium.
With lone senior Alanna Luzier joining sophomore Madison Sopic on Clearfield\’s rapidly-growing injury list, Castagnolo\’s decision to insert Kovalick into the starting lineup paid huge dividends.
\”Angela Moore has started the last three games, so I just thought I\’d give Sarah a shot, because she and Angela are pretty equal players,\” Castagnolo explained after the Lady Bisons snapped their seven-game losing streak for a 5-11 record. \”She sure did come through. She stepped up when we had to have somebody step up.\”
Playing on the left side of Clearfield\’s zone offense, Kovalick wasn\’t bashful about putting the ball on the floor and driving for pull-up jumpers when the Lady Elkers extended their defense to prevent the three-pointers.
Kovalick drilled a trio of three-pointers as the Lady Bisons jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first quarter and then accounted for the hosts\’ first eight points of the fourth period when the outcome still was very much in doubt.
\”She took her time on the shots,\” Castagnolo said. \”She played with a lot of confidence.\”
So did the other Lady Bisons, all of whom contributed to topping the previous high point total which came in the season-opening 56-49 win over Bald Eagle Area.
\”We were shorthanded tonight, but I didn\’t see any fatigue,\” Castagnolo said. \”I\’m just happy the way we played some tough defense in the first half.
\”All eight girls – my hat\’s off to them – played well. We played relaxed, too.\”
Sophomore Elizabeth Peters and junior Annie Janocko worked hard on the inside and combined for 21 points. Peters netted 12 and Janocko a season-high nine, including six in the third quarter.
\”Elizabeth has scored in double figures four games in a row,\” Castagnolo said. \”She\’s really been stepping up.
\”Annie\’s our unsung hero. She doesn\’t get a lot of credit. She\’s an undersized post and just keeps banging away. And she finally scored some points for us.\”
Ridgway, which fell to 1-19 with its fifth loss in a row, had trouble solving Clearfield\’s zone, fullcourt press in the first half and wound up with 17 of its 25 turnovers while the Lady Bisons were building a 28-13 lead.
Gwenn Porter was a disruptive force for the Lady Bisons with her play on the point of the press and the 3-2 halfcourt defense. The 5-5 sophomore also surprised with six rebounds.
\”We\’re a real quick team with Gwenn out there at point guard,\” Castagnolo said. \”She coming along, She does do the little things real well. And she likes to rebound.\”
Porter\’s playing time increased dramatically when Sopic went down with an ankle injury during practice over the holidays.
Sopic\’s return is uncertain. Ditto for Luzier, who suffered a dislocated left thumb in last Tuesday\’s game at St. Marys. Also, junior varsity starter and varsity reserve Kristen McKenzie went down with a knee injury last week.
Ridgway was led by Emily Mitchell with 18 points, eight of them coming late in the third period when the Lady Elkers trimmed a 15-point deficit to 41-29.
They got within nine points twice in the first two minutes of the final period, but Kovalick scored off a Porter assist, hit one of two free throws and then tacked on her fifth three-pointer to restore the Lady Bisons\’ lead to 15, 49-34, with 5:07 left.
\”I kept changing defenses in the fourth quarter, just working on things,\” Castagnolo said. \”We have two big (District 9) league games this week that I want to get back on the right track with.
The Lady Bisons\’ week-long home stand continues Wednesday against Punxsutawney and Friday against Brookville.
Kirstie Shirey had a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds and Bekka Leitzel also had 10 points for Ridgway, which matched Clearfield\’s 37 rebounds but shot only 25 percent (16-for-64).
Amber Byerly and Suzie Colesar scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, in the Clearfield junior varsity\’s 39-31 victory. Kathy Shirey of Ridgway took game honors with 17 points.
RIDGWAY — 41
Emily Mitchell 7 4-4 18, Andrea Redmond 0 0-0 0, Bekka Leitzel 4 2-3 10, Kathy Shirey 4 2-4 10, Jordan Cowan 0 0-0 0, Kathy Shirey 1 0-2 2, Lacey Gosnell 0 1-2 1, Olivia Horning 0 0-0 0, Lauren Amacher 0 0-0 0, Bryton Dybowski 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 16 9-15 41.
CLEARFIELD — 63
Jayme Ryan 2 3-4 7, Annie Janocko 3 3-4 9, Elizabeth Peters 6 0-2 12, Sarah Kovalick 7 4-6 23, Gwenn Porter 2 1-2 5, Amber Byerly 1 1-1 3, Lori Zalno 1 0-0 2, Angela Moore 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 23 12-19 63.
Three-Point Field Goals – Clearfield 5 (Kovalick 5).
Score by Quarters
Ridgway 4 9 `6 12 – 41
Clearfield 14 14 13 22 – 63
Officials – Lee Martell, Marvin Martell, Dan Gales.
