HOUTZDALE — With one week left in the regular season, the Curwensville Lady Tide knew heading into the final stretch that they were assured a playoff spot. The goal from then on was to focus on each game, and not look ahead.
That kind of thinking nearly got the better of them as they went on the road to face the Lady Damsels of Moshannon Valley.
Early in the contest, Mo Valley was able to get out to a quick lead, putting Curwensville on its heals and having to play to catch up. But rather than elect to call a time out and regroup, the girls stayed after it, knowing they were winners in the first game between the two teams earlier in the season, and by a large margin.
The biggest gap for the Lady Tide was early in the first quarter, down 8-0. The first quarter ended with a strong run and cut the lead down to 10-8. But over the final three quarters of play, Curwensville showcased speed, smart ball handling, and put up quick points. At the same time, the defense forced turnovers that led to easy points, not allowing the Damsels to hit double-digits in the final 24 minutes of play. At the final buzzer, the Lady Tide doubled-up in a 50-25 victory.
“We just didn’t start out well. We didn’t play good defense, didn’t shoot the ball well, and then gradually we got into the flow of the game, and did a better job,” head coach Rusty McCracken said afterward. “We played a lot different game after the first quarter.”
Curwensville went on a tear beginning in the second quarter, not allowing a basket to fall defensively until nearly three minutes was left before halftime. All the while, both Ciara Strickland and Katrina Seaburn went on tears on the stat sheet.
Strickland would hit six of seven shots in that time frame, scoring 10 of her game-high 18 points in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Seaburn was looking for the ball early and often. Her night ended with a double-double, adding in 10 points and leading in rebounds with 11.
“That’s typical of our two guards. Ciara gets her points, but she’s not afraid to share with everyone as well,” McCracken said. “She doesn’t mind getting other people their baskets.”
Rebecca Johnson also got in on the double-digits, adding in 12 points.
Despite the sluggish start to the game, McCracken felt that it was best not to call timeout and regroup his girls to try and get back into the game. Rather, he saw that they were still making progress, and let his team work it out on their own.
“We weren’t doing bad things, we just weren’t making good shots. We just started to get into the flow of the game, and we did a lot more subbing in there too,” McCracken said. “It was just one of those things where we just had to get a reality check.”
Mo Valley struggled offensively, only shooting 20 percent from the field. Both Emily Smith and Haley Stodard led the team with six points, but McCracken was quick to point out this was a different team than the one they faced earlier in the season, blowing out the Lady Damsels by over 50 points.
“They’ve had a whole season to improve, and they have girls that play really well,” McCracken said. “They are just going through some things right now and don’t have a lot of experience.
“But they have a lot of young talent that will be really good in the future.”
The jayvee squad did not fair as well as Mo Valley won the opening contest, 40-28.
Curwensville (9-11) has two final games on their schedule before starting post-season play, both games being big rivalries. Wednesday night the Lady Tide will travel to face West Branch, and then will close out the regular season on Valentine’s Day when they host the Lady Bison of Clearfield.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Curwensville 8 14 10 18 – 50
Mo Valley 10 4 5 6 – 25
Curwensville 50
Thorp 2 0-0 4, Shope 0 0-0 0, Johnson 5 2-2 12, Strickland 7 4-5 18, Guy 0 0-0 0, Dale 0 0-0 0, Dug0 0 0-0 0, Seaburn 5 0-0 10, Carter 3 0-2 6, , McGarry 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 5-8 50.
Mo Valley 25
Kolesar 2 1-2 5, Smith 2 2-2 6, Matchock 0 0-0 0, Swoope 0 1-2 1, Stodard 3 0-1 6, Kronenwetter 2 0-0 4, Kitko 1 1-2 3. Totals 10 5-9 25.
Field Goal Shooting: CV-22/59 MV-10/45
Team Fouls: CV-8 MV-8
Turnovers: CV-7 MV-22
Rebounds: CV-23 MV-18
Lady Tide Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 12/10 | MO VALLEY | 52 – 16 | 1 – 0 |
| 12/11 | BROCKWAY | 57 – 32 | 2 – 0 |
| 12/14 | @ Ridgway | 70 – 28 | 3 – 0 |
| 12/19 | HARMONY | 60 – 15 | 4 – 0 |
| 12/21 | @ Kane | ppd. | 4 – 0 |
| 12/27 | @ Clearfield | 52 – 60 | 4 – 1 |
| 01/02 | @ Kane | 31 – 59 | 4 – 2 |
| 01/04 | DUBOIS CENTRAL | 49 – 55 | 4 – 3 |
| 01/08 | @ Johnsonburg | 33 – 48 | 4 – 4 |
| 01/10 | @ Harmony | 66 – 28 | 5 – 4 |
| 01/16 | @ Elk County | 38 – 53 | 5 – 5 |
| 01/18 | WEST BRANCH | 30 – 51 | 5 – 6 |
| 01/21 | @ Glendale | 47 – 50 | 5 – 7 |
| 01/22 | RIDGWAY | 58 – 29 | 6 – 7 |
| 01/25 | @ Brockway | ppd. | 6 – 7 |
| 01/28 | @ DuBois Central | ppd. | 6 – 7 |
| 02/01 | JOHNSONBURG | 35 – 74 | 6 – 8 |
| 02/02 | @ DuBois Central | 34 – 37 | 6 – 9 |
| 02/04 | GLENDALE | 46 – 39 | 7 – 9 |
| 02/05 | @ Sheffield | 56 – 38 | 8 – 9 |
| 02/07 | @ Brockway | 31 – 57 | 8 – 10 |
| 02/08 | KANE | ppd. | 8 – 10 |
| 02/09 | KANE | 35 – 40 | 8 – 11 |
| 02/11 | @ Mo Valley | 50 – 25 | 9 – 11 |
| 02/13 | @ West Branch | ||
| 02/14 | CLEARFIELD | ||
| 02/15 | AML Playoffs | ||
| vs. Elk County Catholic | |||
| 02/19 | District 9 Playoffs | ||
| vs. TBD |