WESTOVER – Red-hot shooting from long range and strong defensive rebounding were the keys as Clearfield handed Harmony its first loss, 53-39, Monday night in the first girls basketball game between the two schools.
The Lady Bisons swished 10 three-pointers in just 19 attempts and pulled down 33 of the Lady Owls\’ missed shots to balance their record at 1-1.
Jayme Ryan hit four treys and Annie Janocko, Sara Kovalick and Madison Sopic each added two to share scoring honors with 12 points apiece.
\”We had great shot selection and we dominated the boards, so they couldn\’t run on us like they like to do,\” Clearfield coach Joey C Castagnolo said, noting the Lady Bisons had just six defensive rebounds in their opener against Johnsonburg. \”We had 10 offensive rebounds, too.\”
Clearfield\’s depth was another factor, according to Castagnolo, and it showed in the second half when the Lady Bisons pulled away after leading 30-26 at intermission.
\”I was substituting my eight, and I thought that was a big difference, because their starters played almost the whole game,\” he said.
Alyson Leyo scored 19 points for the Lady Owls, with 14 coming in the first half. The junior standout, who made a pair of three-pointers, had netted 72 points in Harmony\’s 3-0 start.
The Portage Tip-Off Tournament champs held the lead for only one possession in the second quarter.
\”We controlled the game,\” Castagnolo said. \”It was a great effort for us after that first game.\”
Clearfield\’s junior varsity overcame a 22-8 halftime deficit to notch a 31-27 victory.
The Lady Bisons will begin District 9 League play Friday night at St. Marys. The Lady Dutch take a 5-0 record into their league opener at Bradford Tuesday night.
CLEARFIELD — 53
Annie Janocko 5 0-0 12, Sarah Kovalick 4 2-3 12, Madison Sopic 4 2-2 12, Jayme Ryan 4 0-0 12, Gwenn Porter 0 1-3 1, Amber Byerly 1 0-0 2, Angela Moore 1 0-0 2, Elizabeth Peters 0 0-0 0, Lori Zalno 0 0-0 0, Jocelyn Schultz 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 19 5-8 53.
HARMONY — 39
Alyson Leyo 7 3-6 19, Megan Brink 3 1-1 7, Kierstyn Kruise 1 0-5 3, Lindsay Neff 2 0-4 4, Makenzie Kruise 3 0-0 6, Alaina Westover 0 0-0 0, Shandell Clark 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 16 4-16 39.
Three-Point Field Goals: Clearfield 10 (Janocko 2, Kovalick 2, Sopic 2, Ryan 4). Harmony 3 (Leyo 2, K. Kruise 1).
Score by Quarters
Clearfield 16 14 12 11 – 59
Harmony 13 13 7 6 – 39
