HYDE – The Clearfield Area High School girls basketball team couldn’t have picked a more formidable opponent for their debut in the new gymnasium Tuesday night.
Mountain League front-runner Tyrone, called the best team on the Lady Bison schedule by coach Joey Castagnolo, put on a three-point shooting clinic for three quarters to pile up a 52-26 advantage and spoil the evening for the Red and Black with a 62-42 victory.
The spirited Lady Bison held their own under the boards and had one less turnover with 15, but they couldn’t match the Lady Eagles’ firepower, especially from long range.
The Lady Eagles rippled the nets like they were the hosts on the shiny hardwood.
They shot 45 percent from the field, sinking 23 of 51 attempts.
More impressive was their 10-for-23 totals, 43.5 percent, from behind the arc.
Senior Jordyn Swogger, freshman Kasey Engle and sophomore Finnley Christine accounted for all of the treys that provided a lead at the outset and kept increasing the spread.
“That was the big difference,” Castagnolo stated. “They can shoot the ball real well from the perimeter. We had a hand in their faces, and they still were knocking them down.
“There’s a reason why they’re the best team in the league.”
Tyrone’s first two shots were three-pointers from Christine from the top of the key and Engle from the left wing.
Engle, who had a game-high 20 points, tacked on a pair of free throws for an 8-0 getaway, and Clearfield (3-15, 1-10 ML) never got closer than six points.
The last time was 14-8 when guard Emily Ryan drove the lane for her third bucket with 1:51 left in the first period.
“We didn’t quit,” Castagnolo said. “We played hard. But it’s hard to match threes with twos.
“We did take the ball to the hoop. The thing is we had a couple turnovers at the wrong time. And that built on their momentum.”
Emily Izzulino bracketed Engle’s baseline drive with two buckets in the low post as Tyrone (14-4, 10-1 ML) went to the first rest stop ahead 20-8 on 7-for-11 shooting with four trifectas.
After a see-saw second period, the Lady Eagles had made exactly half of their 26 shots for a 35-21 lead.
Swogger, who joined the 1,000-Point Club in Friday’s important 59-53 win over Central, drained two of her four treys in a 12-1 run that opened the second half, and Christine added her third as Tyrone was 6-for-12 in the third quarter.
Swogger and Christine tallied 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Clearfield, which made 13 of 50 field goal tries for 26 percent, sunk nine of 12 free throws to outscore Tyrone 16-10 in the fourth period.
Ryan was high for the Lady Bison with 12 points, while Maggie Sopic scrapped for seven rebounds, half of the team’s total.
Castagnolo couldn’t fault the Lady Bison’s effort.
“I told the kids if we play that hard the last four games, we can win out,” he said. “They’ve just got to believe in themselves.
“That’s a good team we battled tonight. I know we ended up on the floor a lot, but we didn’t back down. We respected them, but we took it to them.”
Tyrone’s jayvees also won, 28-17. Sarah Lash scored eight points for Clearfield.
The Lady Bison will take on another good ML upper tier team in Penns Valley Friday at Spring Mills.
TYRONE — 62
Jordyn Swogger 5 0-0 14, Emily Iuzzolino 4 0-1 8, Finnley Christine 5 0-0 13, Kasey Engle 6 5-6 20, Alexis Cannistraci 2 0-0 4, Lucy Raftery 0 0-0 0, Marissa Sprankle 0 1-2 1, Madison Noll 0 0-0 0, Lindsey Kemp 1 0-0 2, Cherah Mountz 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 23 6-9 62.
CLEARFIELD — 42
Emily Ryan 5 2-2 12, Emily Aveni 2 0-0 4, Maggie Sopic 0 6-8 6, Sarah Aycock 1 1-2 3, Brianna Spencer 2 1-2 7, Sarah Lash 1 0-0 2, Tessa Waring 0 0-0 0, Victoria Ireland 0 3-4 3, Rachel Glenny 2 1-2 5, Margo Castagnolo 0 0-0 0, Janessa Riddell 0 0-0 0, Macala Leigey 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 13 14-20 42.
Three-Point Field Goals – Tyrone 10 (Swogger 4, Christine 3, Engle 3); Clearfield 2 (Spencer 2).
Score by Quarters
Tyrone 20 15 17 10 – 62
Clearfield 8 13 5 16 – 42
Officials – Emery Faith, Barry Abbott and Tim O‘Connor.
Lady Bison Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| @ Brookville Tip-Off Tourney | |||
| 12/06 | vs. Brookville | ppd. | 0 – 0 |
| 12/07 | vs. Brookville | 18 – 45 | 0 – 1 |
| 12/07 | vs. North Clarion | 47 – 38 | 1 – 1 |
| 12/11 | CENTRAL | 35 – 54 | 1 – 2 |
| 12/13 | HUNTINGDON | 23 – 39 | 1 – 3 |
| 12/16 | @ Punxsutawney | 24 – 66 | 1 – 4 |
| 12/17 | @ Bald Eagle Area | 39 – 32 | 2 – 4 |
| 12/20 | BELLEFONTE | 25 – 27 | 2 – 5 |
| 12/27 | @ Curwensville | 46 – 50 ot | 2 – 6 |
| 01/03 | PUNXSUTAWNEY | 39 – 63 | 2 – 7 |
| 01/08 | @ Tyrone | 41 – 60 | 2 – 8 |
| 01/10 | PENNS VALLEY | 33 – 42 | 2 – 9 |
| 01/15 | @ Philipsburg-Osceola | 57 – 60 | 2 – 10 |
| 01/17 | @ St. Marys | 32 – 36 | 2 – 11 |
| 01/21 | @ Central | ppd. | 2 – 11 |
| 01/23 | CENTRAL MOUNTAIN | 45 – 28 | 3 – 11 |
| 01/24 | @ Huntingdon | 29 – 34 | 3 – 12 |
| 01/28 | BALD EAGLE AREA | ppd. | 3 – 12 |
| 01/30 | @ Central | 42 – 64 | 3 – 13 |
| 01/31 | @ Bellefonte | 22 – 35 | 3 – 14 |
| 02/04 | TYRONE | 42 – 62 | 3 – 15 |
| 02/07 | @ Penns Valley | ||
| 02/10 | CURWENSVILLE | ||
| 02/11 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | ||
| 02/14 | BALD EAGLE AREA |