CURWENSVILLE – Allegheny Mountain League South Division champion DuBois Central Catholic took control with a 13-0 run to close out the first half and went on to defeat winless Curwensville 53-39 in scholastic girls basketball action on Parents Night in Patton Hall Tuesday night.
Andrea Moyer, one of District 9\’s top 15 scorers, led the Lady Cardinals (12-9) to a 38-19 halftime lead with 18 of her 21 points, including a trio of three-pointers.
Treys by guards Molly Yebernetsky and Megan Thomas helped the visitors to jump in front 9-2 in the first 2:26, but the Lady Tide (0-20) started driving to the hoop and posted the next five points to make it a two-point game.
After falling behind 15-7, Curwensville clawed back again when Hannah Walls worked into the lane for two jumpers. She had seven points as the Lady Tide hit five of nine shots, but DCC led 18-12 at the first rest stop thanks to Moyer\’s 10 points.
\”We hung with them pretty much the first quarter,\” Lady Tide coach Vic Gearhart said. \”They hit a couple threes and we fought back from that and got back in the ball game. We were patient. If we didn’t have something, we pulled it back out and reset. That’s just what they have to learn. But they get frustrated and down on themselves too quickly.\”
With 4:43 left in the half, Curwensville was trailing 25-19 after Alesia Bressler\’s conventional three-point play on a drive. However, the Lady Tide failed to score again in the period and ended up 2-for-11 from the floor.
The Lady Cardinals caught fire in the quarter and canned nine of 15 shots, including three by Moyer and two by freshman Miller Hopkins. Five players contributed to the 13-point run that pretty much settled the outcome.
\”I don’t know why teams shoot so well against us,\” Gearhart said. \”We left some people open we thought wouldn’t hurt us as much. We wanted to cover out on Yebernetsky and Thomas. We thought they were their better outside threats. I don’t know when I’ve seen a girls team shoot as well as they did.
\”It wasn’t that we weren’t playing hard. The effort is there. Everybody just seems to get hot against us.
\”Once you get down as much as we were at halftime, chances of winning the game aren\’t real good, but you still can come out competitively in the second half.\”
The Lady Tide did just that, outscoring the Lady Cardinals 20-15 with a 14-6 advantage in the fourth quarter on 7-for-13 shooting..
\”(DuBois Central Catholic) substituted quite a bit,\” Gearhart noted. \”Still, when they had their top people out there, they didn\’t gain that much.
\”When we were moving offensively, we created some good shots. We have to build off those things.
\”The effort has been better the last couple of weeks. We just have to somehow get a win, obviously.\”
Walls paced the Lady Tide with 15 points.
\”I thought Hannah played a good game offensively,\” Gearhart said. \”That\’s probably was her best game of the year, trying to move and create some things. We just have to get some people to move with her and give her some options. She got caught with the ball a couple times, and she\’s looking to pass and there\’s nobody there.\”
Curwensville ended up shooting 39.5 percent (17-for-43) to DuBois Central\’s 38.4 percent (20-for-52). Rebounds favored the Lady Cardinals, 27-19.
The Lady Tide will play at Johnsonburg Friday.
In the junior varsity game, DuBois Central Catholic got 11 points from Natalie Robison in a 42-17 win. Sarah Robb had six points for Curwensville.
ALLEGHENY MOUNTAIN LEAGUE STANDINGS
DuBois Central Catholic 7-2, Brockway 4-5, Ridgway 1-8, Curwensville 0-7.
DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC — 53
Andrea Moyer 7 4-6 21, Nicole Braun 3 1-2 8, Molly Yebernetsky 1 0-3 3, Meagan Thomas 1 0-0 3, Miller Hopkins 3 2-2 8, Rachel O\’Connor 1 0-0 2, Megan Witherow 2 0-0 4, Gabby Saldutte 0 0-0 0, Elizabeth Heasley 1 0-0 2, Kim Cadori 1 0-0 2, JoAnna Fitzer 0 0-0 0, Jordan Meyers 0 0-0 0, Erin Fuller 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20 7-13 53.
CURWENSVILLE — 53
Hannah Walls 7 1-2 15, Tess Bloom 2 2-2 6, Mindy Desmett 2 0-0 4, Alesia Bressler 3 2-3 8, Holly Fink 3 0-0 6, Jenessa Stiles 0 0-0 0, Jenae Stiles 0 0-0 0, Taylor Bumbarger 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 17 5-7 39.
Three-Point Field Goals – DuBois CC 6 (Moyer 3, Braun 1, Yebernetsky 1, Thomas 1).
Score by Quarters
DuBois CC 18 20 9 6 – 53
Curwensville 12 7 6 14 – 39
Officials – Bill Overly, Sam Bevak.
