FLINTON — The Curwensville Area High School girls basketball team clinched at least a tie for the Moshannon Valley League title by coming on strong in the second half to turn back Glendale 55-43 Wednesday night.
The defending champs are 6-0 and need one more win or a West Branch loss for the MVL repeat.
The Lady Tide also locked up their second consecutive winning season at 12-6 on a night when senior standout Ciara Strickland tallied only six points. The last game she failed to hit double figures was on Jan. 27, 2014, in a loss to DuBois Central Catholic.
The Lady Vikings concentrated their defense on District 9’s leading scorer with a box-and-one and then double-teaming her when she tried to get over a screen, according to Curwensville coach Rusty McCracken.
“They were playing her tight, and she didn’t get many clear shots,” he said.
Hannah Dixon and Shauna Guy picked up the slack with 19 points apiece, with the latter achieving a career-high.
“Hannah was getting layups on fast breaks because they were going to stop Ciara, and Shauna scored from outside and inside,” McCracken said.
Dixon also grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds and had five assists, while Christine Limbert snared 10 missed shots and Heather Thorp dished out six assists.
“They all did a good job of finding the open person, and we ended up doing what we had to do,” McCracken said. “I told them this is one of the more impressive wins we’ve had this season because everybody stepped up.”
Glendale (5-12, 2-4 MVL) outscored Curwensville 16-9 in the second quarter to go in front 25-23 at the half, but the Lady Tide came out in the third quarter reclaimed the lead, 36-32, with Dixon scoring six points and Guy adding five.
The Lady Vikings got within two points early in the final period before the Lady Tide pulled away as Dixon netted six of their 19 points.
Amber Matier and Shannon Ricketts each had 10 points for the hosts.
Nikki Wormuth had eight points for the Curwensville jayvees in a 42-10 loss.
The Lady Tide will play their final Allegheny Mountain League game Friday when Kane visits Patton Hall.
Moshannon Valley League —– Curwensville 6-0, West Branch 3-2, Moshannon Valley 3-4, Glendale 2-4, Harmony 0-4.
CURWENSVILLE — 55
Heather Thorp 1 1-2 3, Hannah Dixon 7 4-6 19, Christine Limbert 4 0-2 8, Ciara Strickland 3 0-0 6, Shauna Guy 9 1-5 19. TOTALS: 24 6-15 55.
GLENDALE — 43
Amber Matier 5 0-0 10, Anna Fowler 2 1-2 5, Lauryn Clarkson 1 0-2 2, Cierra O’Shell 3 0-0 7, Shannon Ricketts 5 0-0 10, Alisha Plummer 1 0-0 2, Makenzie Lukehart 2 0-0 5, Kiana Johnston 0 0-0 0, Sydney Gallaher 0 0-0 0, Niki Glass 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 20 1-4 43.
Three-Point Field Goals – Curwensville 1 (Dixon); Glendale 2 (O’Shell 1, Lukehart 1).
Score by Quarters
Curwensville 14 9 13 19 – 55
Glendale 9 16 7 11 – 43
Lady Tide Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 12/08 | MO VALLEY | 61 – 45 | 1 – 0 |
| 12/09 | BROCKWAY | 67 – 46 | 2 – 0 |
| 12/12 | @ Ridgway | 42 – 36 | 3 – 0 |
| 12/19 | @ Kane | 46 – 51 | 3 – 1 |
| 12/29 | @ Clearfield | 66 – 40 | 4 – 1 |
| 01/02 | DUBOIS CENTRAL | 30 – 40 | 4 – 2 |
| 01/05 | WEST BRANCH | 58 – 37 | 5 – 2 |
| 01/06 | @ Johnsonburg | 60 – 47 | 6 – 2 |
| 01/08 | HARMONY | ppd. | 6 – 2 |
| 01/13 | @ Elk County Catholic | 25 – 52 | 6 – 3 |
| 01/15 | @ Mo Valley | 50 – 30 | 7 – 3 |
| 01/20 | RIDGWAY | 48 – 49 | 7 – 4 |
| 01/22 | HARMONY | 47 – 38 | 8 – 4 |
| 01/23 | @ Brockway | 47 – 40 | 9 – 4 |
| 01/26 | @ DuBois Central | ppd. | 9 – 4 |
| 01/27 | @ DuBois Central | 33 – 60 | 9 – 5 |
| 01/28 | GLENDALE | 50 – 33 | 10 – 5 |
| 01/30 | JOHNSONBURG | 38 – 51 | 10 – 6 |
| 02/03 | @ Sheffield | 63 – 36 | 11 – 6 |
| 02/04 | @ Glendale | 55 – 43 | 12 – 6 |
| 02/06 | KANE | ||
| 02/09 | @ Harmony | ||
| 02/11 | @ West Branch | ||
| 02/13 | CLEARFIELD |