ST. MARYS – St. Marys junior standout Kayla Hoohuli put on an incredible three-point shooting display for a school-record 46 points to key a 58-48 comeback win over Clearfield in scholastic girls basketball action in the “Dutch Oven” Friday night.
The loss was the third in the last four games for coach Joey Castanolo’s Lady Bisons (7-4) and dropped them into a fourth place tie with Punxsutawney in the District 9 League at 2-3.
Gwenn Porter led Clearfield with 21 points, and Amber Byerly chipped in with 12.
Hoohuli sank 12 treys, also a school record, as the Lady Dutch (13-1) climbed to 5-1 in the league to remain one game behind Elk County Catholic, 6-0 including a 50-46 victory over St. Marys last Saturday.
Hoohuli’s first three-pointer broke the scoring ice 2:32 into the game, and the Lady Dutch stayed in front until Angela Moore’s field goal gave the Lady Bisons an 18-17 edge midway through the second period.
After Porter snapped a 20-20 tie with a foul shot and made it 24-20 with the first of her two bonus buckets, Hoohuli reeled off 11 consecutive points for a 31-24 St. Marys advantage at intermission.
Clearfield responded with the first eight points of the second half and the final seven points of the third quarter to take a 41-35 lead into the final eight minutes.
St. Marys capitalized on Hoohuli’s deadly shooting and seven Clearfield turnovers for a 23-7 bulge in the fourth period.
An 8-0 run enabled the Lady Dutch to reclaim the lead, 43-41, before Byerly and Porter sent the Lady Bisons in front for the last time at 46-43.
St. Marys reclaimed the lead on Adair Gennocro’s two field goals, one from behind the arc, and Hoohuli sealed the win with a pair of treys and four free throws.
The Lady Bisons are booked for three games again next week, a non-league road test against Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference South Division runner-up Union (8-3) Monday and league scraps at Punxsutawney Wednesday and at home against Bradford Friday.
Clearfield’s junior varsity outscored St. Marys in each of the last three quarters for a 45-30 win that boosted them above .500 again at 6-5. Breanna Peters’ 14 points topped the nine Lady Bison underclassmen who scored.
District 9 League Standings – Elk County Catholic 6-0, St. Marys 5-1, DuBois 3-3, Clearfield 2-3, Punxsutawney 2-3, Brookville 2-5, Bradford 0-5.
CLEARFIELD — 48
Jayme Ryan 0 0-0 0, Gwenn Porter 8 3-4 21, Madison Sopic 3 1-1 7, Elizabeth Peters 3 0-0 6, Amber Byerly 5 2-2 12, Angela Moore 1 0-0 2, Lori Zalno 0 0-0 0, Lori Ambuski 0 0-0 0, Kristen Butler 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20 6-7 48.
ST. MARYS – 58
Shelby Zomcik 0 0-0 0, Kayla Hoohuli 13 8-8 46, Jenna Anderson 0 0-0 0, Adair Gennocro 3 1-2 8, Amanda Simbeck 2 0-0 4, Mandy Gerarge 0 0-0 0, Rachel Krieg 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 18 9-10 58.
Three-Point Field Goals – Clearfield 2 (Porter 2); St. Marys 13 (Hoohuli 12, Gennocro 1).
Score by Quarters:
Clearfield 8 16 17 7 – 48
St. Marys 10 21 4 23 – 58
