HYDE — One thing the Clearfield Lady Bison basketball team has experienced all year long is strong runs. At times the team would get strong play from one player, and that would in turn make others play better. But, the issue all year has been keeping the strong play going for the entire game.
When the Northern Cambria Lady Colts took the court on Monday night to face Clearfield, everything seemed to fall into place. The Lady Bisons got out front early, but did not commit the critical mistakes that seemed to plague them in other games this season. The entire team made smart decisions with the basketball, making good passes and paced themselves in order to get the opportunities.
That type of play led Clearfield (2-10) to victory by a final of 58-51, their first victory since December 28 when the Lady Bisons defeated Curwensville.
“We just played as a team. Everyone took their time and played with confidence, and everyone played with poise tonight,” said head coach Joey Castagnolo on the sidelines after the game.
The confidence rubbed off to every player for Clearfield, as three Lady Bisons ended the night in double figures. Dakota Farmery led all scoring with 17 points, and added 15 rebounds for another double-double on her season. But, Castagnolo was most proud of Lisa Ambuski and Brianna Peters. Ambuski had 12 points on the night, but where she was key was in the assist category as she had a team-high six.
Peters had a strong showing with 15 points and seven rebounds. Castagnolo couldn’t help but smile when talking about his players.
“Lisa [Ambuski] is really coming on as a leader and a point guard. She needed a night like tonight, and I’m glad it came. Brianna [Peters] was big on many of those transitions, and she got good rebounds,” Castagnolo said.
Early in the game Clearfield got out to a six-point advantage, but as the first half wore on, Clearfield opened up a lead that was in the double digits, and kept it for a majority of the game. At one point, Clearfield opened the lead to 16 points, and were still playing as though the game was only a basket away from being tied.
The second half saw the Lady Colts begin to get some outside shots that brought the score close. Just like Clearfield, Northern Cambria had three players in double-digit scoring as both Kelley Sedlock and Ashley Delfonso had 14 points each, while Emily Stiles added another 13.
Where Clearfield was getting beaten in the second half was behind the arc. Northern Cambria attempted 10 shots from three-point territory, with four of them going in, two each from Stiles and Sedlock. But, Castagnolo was happy how his team didn’t make poor choices when the baskets fell.
“You know, they got in a little run, hitting those deep shots. But, we didn’t panic. We stayed calm, kept playing our game, and just kept rolling,” Castagnolo said. “We started getting some offensive put backs, and we weren’t missing the easy shots.”
Clearfield also found victory in the junior varsity match-up by a final of 48-32.
Castagnolo was all smiles because the win was a long time coming, but he also knew the season wasn’t done.
“Our season is still young. We have 10 games left,” Castagnolo said.
The first of those 10 games will be on Wednesday as the Lady Bisons will host Juniata in a Mountain League match-up. The junior varsity game will start the night’s festivities at 6 p.m.
See photos of the game at: http://www.ladybisonsports.org/lbsbball012411.html
BOX SCORE
N. Cambria 10 9 15 17 51
Clearfield 13 18 16 11 58
Northern Cambria 51
Lowmaster 0 0-0 0, Buterbaugh 0 0-0 0, Farabaugh 0 0-0 0, Bernard 0 0-0 0, Wolfe 4 0-0 8, Sedlock 5 1-2 14, Pizur 0 1-2 1, Stiles 5 0-0 13, Lecorchick 0 1-2 1, Delfonso 7 0-1 14, Benton 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 3-7 51
Clearfield 58
Ryan 0 0-0 0, Butler 3 0-0 6, Renaud 0 0-0 0, Ambuski 4 2-2 12, Thompson 3 0-0 6, Marsh 1 0-0 2, Peters 6 2-4 15, Sheeder 0 0-0 0, Farmery 6 5-5 17. Totals 23 9-11 58
FIELD GOALS MADE/ATTEMPTED: NC-21/57 CF-23/49
TEAM REBOUNDS: NC-19 CF-28
TEAM FOULS: NC-11 CF-9
TURNOVERS: NC-17 CF-19
Three-Point Shots: NC-Sedlock (3), Stiles (3); CF-Ambuski (2), Peters