CURWENSVILLE — In a hotly-contested, physical scrap between two schoolgirl basketball teams trying to shake losing streaks, Brockway came from behind in the fourth quarter to defeat Curwensville 44-42 in Allegheny Mountain League South Division action on the Patton Hall hardwood Friday night.
After the Lady Tide’s Christine Limbert created the sixth tie, 40-40, with two clutch free throws at the 1:06 mark, each team had an unforced turnover before Leah Lindemuth put the Lady Rovers in front by swishing a 15-footer with 21.5 seconds remaining.
The Lady Tide couldn’t get the equalizer to fall, and Kaitlyn Morelli sealed the win that broke the Lady Rovers’ four-game slide by cashing both ends of a one-and-one trip to the foul line with nine seconds on the clock.
Those proved crucial when Limbert turned her 15th rebound into a putback at the buzzer.
Limbert also topped the hosts in points with 14 for a double-double.
Coach Jocelyn Bash liked the Lady Tide’s effort after what she felt was a lackluster showing at Ridgway earlier in the week.
“They showed up,” she said. “We didn’t play very hard the other night, and I told them they needed to come out and play their game. So, I don’t have any complaints about that. They were rebounding and they were taking the shots they should be taking.
“They love this game, and they have a lot of skills. I was happy they did their best, and that’s all I can ask of them.”
Brockway’s man defense made it a tough night for Curwensville’s top two pointmakers, holding Hannah Dixon and Madison Weber to a combined 15 points, which is just over half of their season average.
“They played great defense,” Bash said.
What ultimately did in the Lady Tide was cold shooting that rivaled the outside temperature.
They hit only 15 of 73 shots from the floor, including a 1-for-19 second quarter that resulted in a 21-15 halftime deficit.
To their credit, the Lady Tide responded with their best eight minutes, shooting 6-for-17 to wipe out the Lady Rovers’ 24-17 advantage two minutes into the third quarter with a 10-0 run and getting a three-pointer from Mikayla Warren just before the horn sounded for a 30-25 lead.
Limbert’s free throw and Dixon’s steal for a runout gave the hosts their biggest advantage, 33-25, but the Lady Rovers (3-6, 1-2 AML-South) made it a two-point game in the next minute on Lindemuth’s short jumper and putback and Morelli’s steal for two.
Morelli finally got Brockway even, 36-36, by banking in a three-pointer from the right side with 3:37 remaining.
Curwensville went back in front, for the last time, on a putback by Limbert.
Lindemuth answered with a short push shot on an in-bounds play and followed up with a baseline jumper that made it 40-38 before Limbert made her two pressure free throws in a one-and-one situation.
Lindemuth and Morelli, both returning starters as juniors, fueled the Lady Rovers with 19 and 12 points, respectively.
Weber grabbed 14 rebounds, teaming with Limbert and Nikki Wormuth (8) to give Curwensville a 40-37 advantage in rebounds.
The strong boardwork and good ball handling, only 11 turnovers, weren’t enough to offset the poor shooting, though, as the Lady Tide slipped to 2-5 and 0-2 in the AML-South with their fourth loss in a row.
“It was a good game,” Bash said. “It could have gone either way. That’s what makes this such an awesome game, I guess.”
The Lady Tide will be at home again Monday for a Moshannon Valley League encounter against Moshannon Valley.
In the prelim, Curwensville held a four-point lead at halftime, but Brockway rallied for a 35-21 win. Tarah Jacobson led the Lady Tide jayvees with 10 points.
BROCKWAY — 44
Maggie Schmader 0 0-0 0, Adriana Azzato 3 0-0 6, Katlyn Cappetta 1 0-0 2, Leah Lindemuth 9 1-2 19, Kaitlyn Morelli 3 5-6 12, Gabby Sabatose 2 1-2 5. TOTALS: 18 7-10 44.
CURWENSVILLE — 42
Hannah Dixon 3 3-5 9, Nikki Wormuth 1 0-0 2, Christine Limbert 4 6-8 14, Maddie McCracken 3 0-0 6, Madison Weber 2 1-2 6, Mikayla Warren 1 0-0 3, Tarah Jacobson 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 15 10-15 42.
Three-Point Field Goals – Brockway 1 (Morelli); Curwensville 2 (Weber 1, Warren 1).
Score by Quarters
Brockway 11 10 4 19 – 44
Curwensville 13 2 15 12 – 42
Officials – Tim Barnes and Bill Zupich.
Lady Tide Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 12/09 | @ Glendale | 27 – 37 | 0 – 1 |
| 12/12 | @ Mo Valley | 52 – 46 | 1 – 1 |
| 12/14 | WEST BRANCH | 51 – 48 | 1 – 2 |
| 12/19 | KANE | 26 – 57 | 2 – 2 |
| 12/28 | @ Clearfield | 51 – 52 | 2 – 3 |
| 01/04 | @ Ridgway | 31- 48 | 2 – 4 |
| 01/06 | BROCKWAY | 42 – 44 | 2 – 5 |
| 01/09 | MO VALLEY | ||
| 01/10 | DUBOIS CENTRAL | ||
| 01/11 | @ West Branch | ||
| 01/14 | HARMONY | ||
| 01/17 | @ Elk County Catholic | ||
| 01/20 | KANE | ||
| 01/25 | @ Ridgway | ||
| 01/27 | @ Brockway | ||
| 01/31 | @ Harmony | ||
| 02/01 | GLENDALE | ||
| 02/03 | JOHNSONBURG | ||
| 02/07 | @ DuBois Central | ||
| 02/08 | CLEARFIELD | ||
| 02/10 | SHEFFIELD |
