Confidence and Shooting Go Up in Second Half, Help Central Down Lady Bison

HYDE — The final week of the season for the Clearfield Lady Bison is one that was originally slated to be an off-and-on game schedule, allowing for rest before and after games.  However, when Mother Nature decided to play spoiler and add in a few snow days during the month of January and into the first week of February, things became more complicated.

So, instead of having two games to finish out the season, Clearfield would have four, and all were to be played on consecutive days.  Monday night, the Lady Bison were on the road and fell to P-O.  One night later, they would return to the Bison Gymnasium for the final time this year to host a very strong Lady Dragon squad from Central.

Early on, it was as though the home team could do no wrong, as they would break out to an early double-digit lead, and force the visitors to use early timeouts to try and regroup.  Clearfield would lead at the half by a smaller margin, but were still showing that they could contend with one of the more challenging teams on their schedule.

And suddenly, it all went away.  After breaking into double-digits in each of the first two quarters, Clearfield would begin struggling.  At the same time, Central seemed to ignite as if they were in a drag race, and began knocking down shot after shot.

Clearfield would be held to just three field goals in the second half, and it would cost them dearly in a devastating 61-39 defeat.

Head coach Joey Castagnolo couldn’t believe what he had witnessed, but at the same time knew exactly what he had witnessed.

“They (Central) started getting confidence, and we started losing confidence.  That’s the story there.  They began playing as a team, passing the ball around on the perimeter, and getting some open shots, shots they didn’t miss,” Castagnolo said afterward.  “We seem to play a team that’s hot.  Whenever we have a cold night we seem to play a team that’s hot.  It was an amazing (first) two quarters.  We need four quarters like that.”

In the first quarter alone, the Lady Bison got early momentum right from the opening tip.  Rachel Glenny knocked the ball right to Emily Ryan, who then found Margo Castagnolo on a breakaway, and in less than 10 seconds the first basket was on the board.  After the first eight minutes of play, Clearfield held a 17-7 advantage, and would extend it to 19-7 on the first possession in the second quarter.

Central began hitting shots in the next frame, eating away at the lead bit by bit, but Clearfield stayed strong and would manage to maintain a 28-26 advantage at the break.

But all of a sudden, Central began to ignite.  In the third quarter, despite getting the lead to three points early on, the Lady Dragons would tie it at 30 with just under four minutes remaining in the frame.  But, when they got the lead shortly after, there was no turning back.

Mikaela McGraw would normally be the one scoring all the points, and she would hit double figures with 15 to end the night, but the defense held her in check most of the game.  However, she would lead the offense in assists with eight, getting the ball to her teammates, who proceeded to hit perimeter shots with ease.  The Lady Dragons would hit eight baskets from beyond the arc, essentially shutting down any chance Clearfield had to come back.

“They just got so much confidence because they were draining them.  If they had just missed a couple of those, we could have hung around,” Castagnolo said.  “But once we got down between nine and 12 (points), we started losing our confidence.

“We had a gimmick defense set up on McGraw, their best player and scorer, and we held her in check pretty well.  But the other players picked it up.”

Kaitlyn Johnson would finish the night as the top scorer from either side, adding in 17 points, and Marisa Snyder added in 10 more.

Clearfield would finish the night, however, with a pair in double figures.  Rachel Glenny would add in 10 points, but it was Emily Ryan pacing the way for the Lady Bison, nailing down a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards.  Castagnolo was quick to point out that Ryan isn’t afraid to go after the defense and get physical if it means getting points on the board.

“Emily loves going inside and mixing it up.  She did a nice job tonight with the offense,” Castagnolo said.

The junior varsity squad did pick up the win to open the night in a 62-29 final.

Castagnolo knows that the hardest part about this week isn’t the games themselves, but in actuality is not having much time to prepare for the games.  The final four games are on consecutive nights, and in his mind, the biggest challenge of all is to let the team recoup.

“I’m trying to rotate to keep people fresh.  That’s the biggest issue, trying to rotate and not to drain somebody, because we still have two games,” he said.

The final two games of the season are both on the road, beginning Thursday night with a trip to Bellefonte, a team that the Lady Bison beat already this year in a double-overtime thriller, and the year will conclude with a trip to Patton Hall to take on their rival from up the river, Curwensville.

Castagnolo is extremely confident his team can finish the year with back-to-back wins, but he also knows a couple of his players are in need of some rest.

“My two posts, Mary (Ishman) and Rachel (Glenny), are a little banged up, so hopefully they get some ice tonight and get to bed early, and are ready for those last two games,” Castagnolo said.

Tip-off for Bellefonte is slated for 6 p.m. with the junior varsity game to open action, followed by the varsity contest.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central   7   19   16   19   –   61

Clearfield   17   11   5   6   –   39

Central 61

Garver 0 0-0 0, Johnston 6 3-6 17, Fernander 0 0-0 0, Long 2 3-4 9, Thompson 0 0-0 0, Snyder 4 0-0 10, Brumbaugh 2 0-3 4, Mack 2 0-1 4, Metzler 0 0-0 0, Keninger 0 0-0 0, Smith 1 0-0 2, McGraw 3 6-8 15, Cole 0 0-0 0.  TOTALS 20 12-22 61

Clearfield 39

Castagnolo 1 0-0 2, Cline 0 0-0 0, Ryan 4 4-6 13, Lindstrom 2 0-0 4, Waring 0 0-0 0, Riddell 0 0-0 0, Rockmore 0 0-0 0, Aveni 2 0-0 4, Glenny 4 2-4 10, Ishman 3 0-0 6, Boal 0 0-0 0.  TOTALS 16 6-10 39

GAME STATISTICS
Central/Clearfield

Field Goals Made-Attempted:  20-49/16-47

Team Fouls:  13/19

Rebounds:  25/27

Turnovers:  16/25

Three-Point Shots:  McGraw (3), Snyder (2), Johnston, Long (2)/Ryan

Lady Bison Scoreboard: