A “Flat” Second Half Costs Lady Bisons in 54-36 loss to Central

CLEARFIELD — After the first game of the season, Clearfield Area High School Lady Bison head coach Joey Castagnolo was praising his girls for their effort.  Despite losing their season opener on Wednesday, his team kept the game close.

Friday night, Clearfield hosted the Lady Dragons of Central, hoping to build upon what they had earlier in the week.

However, Central came out putting a lot of pressure on Clearfield, which led to turnovers, bad ball control and forced the Lady Bisons to play from behind for a majority of the game.  Despite only being down seven at the end of the first half, the Bisons gave up 12 points at the beginning of the third quarter, which abruptly took a lot of wind out of the sails of Clearfield.

After 32 minutes of play, the Lady Dragons were the ones enjoying a victory by a final of 54-36.

Castagnolo talked after the game, and in his eyes it was how his team played in the second half was the big difference.

“They [Central] turned up the pressure in the second half.  We came out flat, gave up a lot of points.  Right there, that was the key to the game for them,” Castagnolo said.

That pressure caused six turnovers in the third quarter, which translated into 16 points for Central.  Leading the way for the Lady Dragons in scoring were Britni Greenleaf with 15 points and Sarabeth Bean with 13 points.  Keily Horton led Central with eight rebounds, while Stephanie Miller had a team-high six assists.

Clearfield had strong statistics, as center Dakota Farmery had a double-double, scoring 10 points while also gaining 15 rebounds.  However for a majority of the game, Central kept Clearfield’s tallest player in check.

“We’re not used to getting that kind of pressure on the post.  You can’t teach that in practice cause we don’t have anyone that can simulate that style of play,” Castagnolo said.  “But, when you get into a game situation, you now are faced with it, and Central did a great job in the paint.”

It didn’t help that Breanna Peters, who Castagnolo calls the heart and soul of the team, had four fouls entering the third quarter.

“It’s tough when you have fouls on a player like that, but I have to play her cause we all feed off her play,” Castagnolo said.  “I was scared she would foul out, but I couldn’t risk keeping her on the bench.”

Now with a record of 0-2, Castagnolo’s next move is not looking at the next game, but more about the next practice.

“We have to pick up the intensity at practice.  I told the girls after the game that the Mountain League is going to be intense every night, so we’re gonna have to be just as intense in practice,” Castagnolo said.  “You know, we’re all young, and I don’t think the girls knew how intense this league would be.

“They certainly know it after tonight.”

In the junior varsity game that opened up play, Central just managed to hold on for the win by a score of 31-29.

The Lady Bisons’ next game is on the road Monday as they travel to face Punxsutawney, the first of two road games next week.  Clearfield will not return home until December 28 when they host backyard rival Curwensville.

See photos of the game here: http://www.ladybisonsports.org/lbsbball121710.html

SCORE BY QUARTERS

CENTRAL          13     10     16     15          54

CLEARFIELD          8     8     6     14          36

CENTRAL

Smith 1 0-0 2, Albright 1 0-0 3, Greenleaf 6 3-4 15, Johnson 0 0-0 0, McKnight 0 0-0 0, Miller 2 0-0 4, Horton 3 0-0 8, 0 1-2 1, Patterson 3 0-1 8, Oakes 0 0-0 0, Bean 5 2-2 13.  Totals 22 6-9 54

CLEARFIELD

Ryan 2 0-0 4, Spencer 0 0-0 0, Butler 1 2-2 4, Renaud 0 0-0 0, Ambuski 1 3-5 5, Thompson 2 0-0 5, Marsh 1 2-4 4, Mumma 0 0-0 0, Peters 2 0-2 4, Sheeder 0 0-0 0, Farmery 5 0-3 10.  Totals 14 7-16 36

Three-Point Shots:  CENTRAL-Albright, Horton (2), Patterson (2), Bear.  CLEARFIELD-Thompson