HYDE — Hoping to ride the momentum coming off of Friday night’s victory, the Lady Bison of Clearfield returned to their home gym on Monday night. After defeating Huntingdon to get back to the .500-mark on the season, it was another battle in the Mountain League contest that awaited as the Lady Raiders of Bellefonte made the trip to compete.
The fans in attendance got a game that went back and forth, with neither team showing the upper hand. However, it was Bellefonte that found key momentum when it mattered most. Whether it was strong rebounds on both sides of the court, or key shots finding the net, the Lady Raiders found their groove after a poor finish to the first half to rally and defeat the Lady Bison, 55-52.
Head coach Joey Castagnolo could not believe what had occurred in front of him, but also sensed exactly why the game went the way it did.
“My girls got a little tentative because they got into foul trouble, and everything just started rolling right for Bellefonte,” he said.
Clearfield ended the first quarter down just three, but that quickly changed, and stayed that way through the rest of the first half. While Clearfield would take the lead with six minutes remaining, Bellefonte went stale in shooting. After putting down five of their first 11 shots in the game, the next 15 attempts would miss. The Lady Bison defense forced a second quarter shutout on the opposition, and headed into halftime with an 18-11 advantage, and with possession to start the second half.
It wouldn’t be until six minutes remained in the third quarter when Bellefonte added points to the board, but it was that quarter when things began rolling. A pair of three’s from Lauren Yeager and Mallorie Smith gave Bellefonte life. Despite the Raiders winning the quarter, 17-13, Clearfield still held a slim advantage entering the final quarter.
Smith and her tall center, Lauren Young, would pour it on in the fourth quarter. Young would finish her night with a team-high 15 points, while Smith and Abbie Carr each added 13 more. Carr finished the night in double figures with 12 rebounds, many coming late in the game.
It was those three-point shots that began the turnaround in Castagnolo’s eyes.
“They hit a couple three’s and started getting a lot of confidence,” he said. “I just felt in that third quarter, we were just a couple possessions away from really putting the game away. Hats off to Bellefonte because they didn’t quit, and stuck right in there.
“Everything changed because we got tentative, and they got on a roll.”
The tentative play for Clearfield meant having to play smart, but to be aggressive only when needed. Nicolette Brossard, Ally Lindstrom, and Alayna Ryan all got into foul trouble in the fourth quarter. All put four fouls to their name, but still were creating opportunities. However, with Nikki Chew and Brooke Cline having three fouls a piece as well, the Lady Bison defense could not press as much to create opportunities. The steals in the first half from Ryan were not coming, but her baskets and assists were still coming at a strong rate.
Ryan finished the night leading all scoring with 21 points, added in three rebounds, seven assists, and five steals.
Unfortunately, Clearfield fell behind late when Bellefonte sank four of five shots from the free throw line, and caught some key rebounds in clutch situations. Castagnolo just couldn’t believe how close his team came to going back-to-back in victories, only to fall just short.
“It was a great basketball game, and we played our hearts out. We were just a different team in the second half.”
The junior varsity game between the two squads turned out to be just as thrilling. The back-and-forth contest wouldn’t be settled in four quarters. It couldn’t be settled in overtime. It took a second overtime to finally decide a victory. Bellefonte was in major foul trouble, as with the small squad, for most of the second overtime they played with only four players due to foul-outs. Yet, somehow, led by Yeager’s 30-point burst, overcame the odds with a 43-41 victory.
Clearfield (2-3) has their fourth-consecutive Mountain League game on Wednesday night as they travel to Tyrone.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Bellefonte 11 0 17 27 – 55
Clearfield 8 10 13 21 – 52
Bellefonte – 55
Brani 2 2-2 6, Steiner 1 0-0 2, Smith 4 2-4 13, Gregor 1 1-1 3, Bates 0 0-0 0, Carr 6 1-1 13, Young 7 1-4 14, Yearger 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 22 7-12 55.
Clearfield – 52
Brossard 2 2-2 6, Chew 3 2-5 8, Cline 5 1-2 11, Ryan 10 0-1 21, Lindstrom 1 2-2 4, Gisewhite 0 0-0 0, Serena 0 0-0 0, Clark 0 0-0 0, McClain 0 0-0 0, Miller 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 22 7-12 52.
GAME STATISTICS
Bellefonte/Clearfield
Shooting: 22-47/22-67
Rebounds: 33/31
Fouls: 8/18
Turnovers: 22/13
Three-Point Shots: Smith (3), Yeager/Ryan
Lady Bison Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 12/09&10 | @ Brookville Tip-off Tourney | ||
| 12/09 | vs. Clarion-Limestone | 64 – 22 | 1 – 0 |
| 12/10 | vs. North Clarion | 39 – 51 | 1 – 1 |
| 12/14 | @ Central | 24 – 64 | 1 – 2 |
| 12/16 | HUNTINGDON | 43 – 35 | 2 – 2 |
| 12/19 | BELLEFONTE | 52 – 55 | 2 – 3 |
| 12/21 | @ Tyrone | ||
| 12/23 | DUBOIS | ||
| 12/28 | CURWENSVILLE | ||
| 01/03 | @ Punxsutawney | ||
| 01/06 | BALD EAGLE AREA | ||
| 01/09 | BROOKVILLE | ||
| 01/10 | @ Penns Valley | ||
| 01/13 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | ||
| 01/16 | ST. MARYS | ||
| 01/18 | CENTRAL | ||
| 01/20 | @ Huntingdon | ||
| 01/23 | @ Bellefonte | ||
| 01/27 | TYRONE | ||
| 02/01 | @ Penns Valley | ||
| 02/03 | PENNS VALLEY | ||
| 02/07 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | ||
| 02/08 | @ Curwensville |