HYDE — The end of January means that the basketball season is entering the home stretch. For the Lady Bison of Clearfield, it’s entering the final part of a season that has seen ups, downs, and many lessons learned no matter what the outcome.
As the temperatures outside hovered around the single-digit mark, inside the Bison Gymnasium the action was getting ready to heat up as Clearfield (4-12) had a tough task ahead, taking on one of the top teams in the Mountain League, the Lady Golden Eagles of Tyrone.
Already knowing they were tough to play against the first time around, the Lady Bison were up to the task to take on the opposition. But, the Lady Eagles were even more up to the task to make it a sweep of the season. Clearfield was pushing itself, and it led to turnovers and quick points, while Tyrone was putting down basket after basket, and crashing the boards on both sides.
At the final buzzer, despite a strong fourth quarter, it was Tyrone on the stronger end of the 58-34 final.
“To me, they’re the best team in the league,” head coach Joey Castagnolo said afterwards.
The game started out slowly for both squads, but when Tyrone got on a roll, they were not stopping. Early in the game, they got out to an 8-0 advantage, and then in the second quarter the game began falling right in the favor of the visiting team. Of the 17 points scored in the frame, 10 of them came from Kasey Engle, including two big three-point shots from the top of the key.
At the same time, the Lady Bison were struggling to get a handle on the ball. Clearfield would commit 36 turnovers, and when the opportunity came to get the ball on a missed basket, they couldn’t come up with the rebound.
Castagnolo knew Tyrone would be tough to defend on the boards, but what he was happiest about was how well his girls limited the shots from behind the arc. In the game, Tyrone attempted 20 shots from three-point range, making seven of them. In the December game, the Lady Eagles nearly tripled the amount of three-pointers that made it through the net.
“I thought we did a great job in that first half taking the three (pointer) away from them. Last time we played them, they had 19 three’s, and I wanted to take that away from them,” Castagnolo said. “Tonight, I thought we did a nice job with that. All in all, the kids played hard, they just lost a great basketball game.”
However, not getting the rebounds hurt the Lady Bison in the long run. Tyrone had a double-digit advantage on the boards, led by Christine Finnley who brought down nine on the night to go with her 12 points. Engle would lead all scorers with 23 points.
“When they control the boards, they could do anything they want to,” Castagnolo said.
Clearfield was led in points by Emily Ryan and Ali Lindstrom, who each had seven points. However, a lot of momentum for the Lady Bison came to a halt midway through the third quarter. Tyrone began to show how physical they could be on the court, and contact began happening. Both teams played hard, but soon the officials blew a whistle after contact between Ryan and Lindsay Kemp.
The contact had Ryan collapse to the ground, and gasping for air. She would get up under her own power, but appeared to take a shot to the throat area that caused her to lose her breath, almost choking. Ryan would return for the fourth quarter, actually start the final eight minutes, but Castagnolo knew that her not being on the court isn’t about scoring or assists. Instead, it was about her communicating and controlling the pace that was missed.
“Emily has to be on the court to calm things down for us. So that hurt, and took away a lot of momentum for us,” he said.
The Lady Bison did get a victory in the opening junior varsity game in a 42-27 triumph.
Castagnolo knows the season is coming to an end, with two final weeks of action yet to go. Despite not winning in this instance, he was proud to see his squad continue to battle up until the final buzzer. With that kind of desire, he felt that his team could win a few more games before the season ended.
“We didn’t quit, which I liked. We kept battling Even the young kids, they learned to play until the final whistle. I was happy with that,” Castagnolo said. “They (Tyrone) are a good team, well coached, and we gave them a battle there. We just can’t match up with their firepower.
Now, all our games are winnable.”
Clearfield has three games next week, including their final two home games of the season, beginning on Monday when they host the Lady Dragons of Central.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Tyrone 12 17 17 12 – 58
Clearfield 6 6 7 15 – 34
Tyrone 58
Mountz 0 0-0 0, Reese 0 0-0 0, Miller 0 0-0 0, McKenna 0 0-0 0, Kemp 1 0-0 2, Wagner 2 0-0 4, Finnley 4 2-3 12, Engle 8 4-4 23, Cannistraci 4 0-0 8, Crabtree 0 0-0 0, Sprankle 0 1-2 1, Gensimore 1 0-0 2, Noll 2 0-0 6, Lehman 0 0-0 0, Gill 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 22 7-9 58
Clearfield 34
Castagnolo 1 0-0 2, Cline 0 0-0 0, Ryan 2 3-3 7, Lindstrom 3 1-2 7, Waring 0 0-2 0, Riddell 0 0-0 0, Rockmore 0 2-2 2, Aveni 1 2-4 4, Glenny 3 0-0 6, Ishman 3 0-0 6, Boal 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 13 8-13 34
GAME STATISTICS
Tyrone/Clearfield
Field Goals Made-Attempted: 22-52/13-45
Rebounds: 36/25
Team Fouls: 9/10
Turnovers: 23/36
Three-Point Shots: Finnley (2), Noll (2), Engle (3)/None
Lady Bison Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 12/05 | @ Brookville Tip-off Tourney | ||
| 12/05 | vs. Northern Clarion | 25 – 43 | 0 – 1 |
| 12/06 | vs. Clarion-Limestone | 63 – 40 | 1 – 1 |
| 12/10 | @ Central | 38 – 57 | 1 – 2 |
| 12/12 | HUNTINGDON | 25 – 37 | 1 – 3 |
| 12/15 | PUNXSUTAWNEY | 43 – 57 | 1 – 4 |
| 12/16 | BELLEFONTE | 49-47 2ot | 2 – 4 |
| 12/19 | @ Tyrone | 45 – 73 | 2 – 5 |
| 12/22 | @ Brookville | 31 – 70 | 2 – 6 |
| 12/29 | CURWENSVILLE | 40 – 66 | 2 – 7 |
| 01/05 | @ Punxsutawney | 34 – 63 | 2 – 8 |
| 01/07 | BALD EAGLE AREA | 45 – 31 | 3 – 8 |
| 01/09 | @ Penns Valley | ppd. | 3 – 8 |
| 01/13 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | 70 – 64 | 4 – 8 |
| 01/16 | ST. MARYS | 44 – 45 | 4 – 9 |
| 01/21 | CENTRAL | ppd. | 4 – 9 |
| 01/23 | @ Huntingdon | 31 – 56 | 4 – 10 |
| 01/26 | @ Bellefonte | ppd. | 4 – 10 |
| 01/28 | @ Penns Valley | 25 – 45 | 4 – 11 |
| 01/30 | TYRONE | 34 – 58 | 4 – 12 |
| 02/02 | CENTRAL | ||
| 02/04 | @ Bald Eagle Area | ||
| 02/06 | PENNS VALLEY | ||
| 02/10 | @ Philipsburg-Osceola | ||
| 02/12 | @ Bellefonte | ||
| 02/13 | @ Curwensville |