CURWENSVILLE – On a night when the Lady Tide seniors played their final home game and when head coach Vic Gearhart coached his final game in Patton Hall, the Curwensville girls rallied late to take the lead against the visiting Lady Vikings of Glendale. However, in the end, Glendale retook the lead and held on for the 37-32 victory.
After the game, coach Gearhart sat on the bench taking in his final game, reflecting on 42 years with the Curwensville Area School District, ten of them as the Lady Tide head coach.
“I have spent most of my life on this court; I have a lot of fond memories, and really enjoyed each one,” said Gearhart.
The Tide played valiantly for most of the game, taking the lead on six separate occasions. With an 11-10 lead heading into the second quarter after a Tess Bloom three-point shot, Curwensville looked to capitalize. What ensued was a Glendale dominant second quarter, outscoring Curwensville 13-2.
“We lost the game in the second quarter. We didn’t make good decisions and they capitalized,” said Gearhart.
Glendale head coach John Matchock credits a switch in defense to his team dominating the quarter.
“We really didn’t defend well in the man-to-man and that gave them some shots inside. We switched to a zone and it put us in good position for rebounds and some breaks,” said Matchock.
Glendale forward Morgan Biddle led the team in scoring with 20 points, going 10 for 10 on the foul line and missing only one shot on the floor. No other Vikings were in double-digit figures. Michelle Gates led the team in assists with six while Biddle and Samantha Noel both led the Vikings in rebounds with six a piece.
In the second half Curwensville pulled to within six, 27-21, late in the third on steals and ball movement. In the final period, the Lady Tide went after the ball in a full-court press. Late in the game, Hannah Walls got one of her team high four steals on an in-bound pass to even the score. She stole another in-bound ball, but Tess Bloom missed the shot, leaving the score even with just over two minutes to play.
“That would’ve been a big momentum shift for us if we made that basket, but it kept us in the game,” said Gearhart.
Glendale took the following possession down the court that led to a Noel three-point shot that put the Lady Vikings up by three. Three foul shots by Biddle late in the game sealed the victory for Glendale.
Bloom led the Tide in both scoring and rebounds with 17 and seven, respectively. Bloom and Jenna Stiles both led in assists with eight each.
Glendale also won the opening junior-varsity game by a score of 33-28.
Despite the loss, coach Gearhart was very proud of the play of his team.
“Obviously, I wish the result was different. It is not the win that matters to me…it’s the effort, and they put up a great effort tonight,” said Gearhart. “The last two weeks we’ve been playing our best games, and that is important.”
Curwensville has one final opportunity to put a win on their record as they travel tomorrow night to take on Bucktail.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
GLENDALE 10 13 4 8 37
CURWENSVILLE 11 2 8 11 32
GAME STATISTICS
FIELD GOALS: GLENDALE-10/13; CURWENSVILLE-12/25
THREE-POINT SHOTS: GLENDALE-Legrand, Noel; CURWENSVILLE-Bloom (4)
FOUL SHOTS: GLENDALE-15/16; CURWENSVILLE-4/4
TEAM FOULS: GLENDALE-7; CURWENSVILLE-13
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
GLENDALE: Biddle-5/6, 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists; Noel-3/4, 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists
CURWENSVILLE: Bloom-5/12, 17 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists; Bressler-3/5, 6 rebounds, 5 assists; Walls-3/5, 6 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists