HYDE – The schedule shows the Clearfield Area High School girls basketball team is into the final third of the season.
However, the Lady Bisons looked more like a team playing its opener in a 41-23 District 9 League loss to Punxsutawney on the Arthur J. Weiss Gymnasium hardwood Wednesday night.
They managed only two field goals, both by Sarah Kovalick, in 20 first half attempts and didn\’t fare much better after intermission, finishing 7-for-51 for 13.7 percent.
\”You can\’t win basketball games like that, and we had the shots we practice on through the course of a practice,\” coach Joey Castagnolo said after Clearfield dipped to 1-7 in the league and 5-12 overall. \”We just didn\’t make \’em. At this time of year, we\’re not young kids any more. It\’s just so frustrating.\”
The Lady Bisons, whose success is predicated on three-point shooting, found it difficult getting open looks from behind the arc against the Lady Chucks\’ man defense, but they also failed to make the shots when they were able to work the ball inside.
\”To Punxsy\’s credit, they play tough defense, but we\’ve seen that kind of defense before,\” Castagnolo said. \”The girls started getting frustrated. I tried to isolate some girls. We just couldn\’t get the ball into them. I don\’t know if they were just quicker than us, or if we just didn\’t take care of the basketball.\”
Turnovers were another big factor. The Lady Chucks came up with 10 steals in the first half, when the Lady Bisons had 15 of their 20 turnovers.
Even with the misfires and the turnovers, Clearfield was down only 17-9 at the break, as Punxsy hit just six of 27 attempts from the field.
The Lady Chucks, 7-11, never trailed in balancing their D-9 League record at 4-4. It marked the sixth time this season they have registered a win following back-to-back losses.
A pair of three-pointers by Jube Parise was the only scoring in the first two minutes, as the Lady Bisons\’ first four possessions resulted in turnovers.
Clearfield was down 8-4 after Kovalick banked in a jumper and Elizabeth Peters swished two free throws, but the hosts failed to score in the last 4:51 of the first quarter and fell behind 12-4.
Kovalick\’s trey from the left side was the only scoring in the first 4:57 of the second period, each team winding up with just five points.
\”Really, we didn’t play bad defense,\” Castagnolo. \”But our offense could never get in some kind of rhythm.\”
Emily Thompson, Punxsy\’s leading scorer, got into a rhythm in the second half with eight of the Lady Chucks\’ 10 points in the third quarter and six in the first four minutes of the fourth period to help stretch the margin to 35-17.
The 5-9 senior was the lone player in double figures with 19 points, including a trio of treys.
Kovalick\’s seven points topped the Lady Bisons, who did match the Lady Chucks in rebounds with 31.
\”I was looking at this as a big game, a springboard for the rest of the season,\” Castagnolo said. \”I was real confident, being on our floor, even though Alanna (Luzier) was out with the thumb injury. We beat that team (45-42) up there. And we had the same kind of pressure.
\”We weren\’t ready to play. We didn\’t play with any poise or confidence.
\”I can\’t fault the effort. But man, oh, man, we have to make some shots.\”
Ironically, she launched a shot from near midcourt that ripped the cords at the buzzer.
The Lady Bisons will host Brookville (10-9) in another D-9 League outing Friday night.
Punxsutawney outlasted Clearfield 29-26 in the junior varsity game. Amber Byler topped the Lady Bisons with 11 points.
DISTRICT 9 LEAGUE STANDINGS
Elk County Catholic 8-0, St. Marys 6-1, Brookville 6-2, Punxsutawney 4-4, Bradford 2-6, Clearfield 1-7, DuBois 1-8.
PUNXSUTAWNEY — 41
Emily Thompson 7 2-2 19, Jube Parise 2 0-0 6, Lauren Janocha 1 0-0 2, Allie Miller 1 0-0 2, Amanda Toven 3 0-0 6, Megan McCully 1 2-2 4, Jenna Reitz 1 0-2 2, Ashley Craig 0 0-0 0, Laurie Keeley 0 0-0 0, Amber Fye 0 0-0 0, Hannah Neal 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 16 4-6 41.
CLEARFIELD — 23
Jayme Ryan 1 0-0 3, Annie Janocko 0 0-0 0, Elizabeth Peters 1 3-4 5, Sarah Kovalick 3 0-0 7, Gwenn Porter 0 0-0 0, Amber Byerly 1 2-2 4, Alanna Luzier 1 1-4 4, Angela Moore 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 7 6-10 23.
Three-Point Field Goals – Punxsutawney 5 (Thompson 3, Parise 2); Clearfield 3 (Ryan, Kovalick, Luzier).
Score by Quarters
Punxsutawney 12 5 10 14 – 41
Clearfield 4 5 7 7 – 23
Officials – Rich Gormont, Jeff Davis, Dave Blair.