CURWENSVILLE — After trying to catch Johnsonburg for three quarters, the Curwensville Area High School girls basketball team staged a stirring rally in the final period for a thrilling 48-47 Allegheny Mountain League victory in Patton Hall Friday night.
Madison Weber and Hannah Dixon took charge with their scoring and ballhandling to a crowd-pleasing 15-0 run in just over three minutes that erased a nine-point deficit and had the Lady Tide in front 44-38 with three minutes remaining.
“They were on fire,” first-year coach Jocelyn Bash gushed following the Lady Tide’s second big ‘W’ over a team with a winning record in three nights. “They have a chemistry between them that sometimes just amazes me.”
After Dixon hit the back-end of a two-shot trip to the foul line, Weber really kick-started the comeback with a jumper in the lane, a steal for a conventional three-point play and a running bank shot.
Then, Christine Limbert rotated out of the post to the left corner and drained a rare three-pointer that put Curwensville ahead to stay at 40-38.
Before the stunned Ramettes could recover, Dixon added a pair of fast-break layups, the second after Limbert ripped down one of her 20 rebounds and sent an over-the-head pass to midcourt.
Nicole Myers finally ended Johnsonburg’s drought with a layup and free throw with 1:07 to go.
Dixon went to the charity stripe for a one-and-one with 49.9 seconds showing on the clock and made both free throws for a 46-41 lead.
However, foul shooting problems by the Lady Tide gave the Ramettes opportunities they were unable to cash because of missed shots and turnovers.
“You know what we’ll be doing Monday,” Bash said of her team going 1-for-4 at the foul line in 17 seconds and finishing 11-for-23. “Every team has a much higher percentage than us. And that just made it a little nerve-wracking there.”
Myers tossed in a pair of three-pointers in the final 18 seconds, but the second came after Dixon had sunk one of two free throws that made it 48-44 with eight ticks on the clock.
The 19-point quarter was a new high for the Lady Tide this season.
Bash ranked the Lady Tide’s first AML win in eight outings right up there with Wednesday’s 46-35 victory that not only prevented Glendale from clinching the Moshannon Valley League championship but kept alive their hopes of finishing in a dead heat with the Lady Vikings.
“The Glendale win was huge,” she said. “I honestly didn’t know a whole lot about Johnsonburg, so I wasn’t sure what we were gonna get. All I heard was they had a couple big girls.
“Now that I’m hearing about their record (now 11-8, 4-3 AML-North Division) and who all they played, I’m really proud of my team. They turned it on in the fourth quarter.”
Especially on defense, with freshman reserve Tarah Jacobson providing a spark by using her quickness to hound the Ramette guards and either make steals or help create turnovers.
“Whenever she’s in, she really wants the ball,” Bash said. “Not so much to shoot. She just takes it from them. She’s always there (around the ball). She’s a huge player off the bench for us.”
A deep three by Dixon gave Curwensville its only lead early, 5-4, but were in a chase mode after the Ramettes broke a 6-6 tie with baskets by Amanda Williams, Myers and Cassidy King.
The Lady Tide couldn’t quite catch the Ramettes as they fell behind 14-10 at the first break, 26-20 at halftime and 37-29 going to the final period when they finally got on a roll.
“We just couldn’t get there,” Bash said. “Obviously shooting and scoring are important, but in that fourth quarter, the defense was huge and we made less turnovers and kept the ball from them.
Dixon, who was tied for eighth in District 9 scoring with a 16.6 average through Jan. 31, earned scoring laurels with 19 points, Weber checked in with 15 and Limbert added 11.
Like Limbert, Weber wound up with a double-double as she corralled 10 missed shots.
Limbert’s hard work inside didn’t go unnoticed by Bash, who said, “That definitely was key, because when they can’t shoot as many times, we have a better chance.
“I’m very, very proud of the way all the girls played. Hopefully, we’ve turned the corner.”
At 6-10, Curwensville could wind up in the District 9 Class A Playoffs with a strong finish in the next two weeks.
The Lady Tide have six games remaining, including a recently-scheduled non-league game against Hickory at Hermitage on Feb. 14.
They have an AML-South road game against DuBois Central Catholic Tuesday and then will host backyard rival Clearfield the next night.
The junior varsity game was won by Johnsonburg, 40-4.
JOHNSONBURG — 47
Nicole Myers 5 3-3 13, Cassidy King 4 0-0 9, Skylar Sherry 4 3-4 11, Emily Dillinger 1 2-4 4, Rylee Casilio 1 0-0 2, Amanda Williams 2 0-0 4, Maria Jones 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 18 8-11 47.
CURWENSVILLE — 48
Hannah Dixon 6 5-9 19, Christine Limbert 5 0-2 11, Nikki Wormuth 0 1-2 1, Madison Weber 5 5-10 15, Maddie McCracken 0 0-0 0, Madison Olson 0 0-0 0, Mikayla Warren 1 0-0 2, Tarah Jacobson 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 17 11-23 48.
Three-Point Field Goals – Johnsonburg 3 (Myers 2, King 1); Curwensville 3 (Dixon 2, Limbert 1).
Score by Quarters
Johnsonburg 14 12 11 10 – 47
Curwensville 10 10 9 19 – 48
Officials – Marven Martell and Lee Martell.
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 | 58 – 56 | 3 – 5 |
| 01/10 | DUBOIS CENTRAL | ppd. | 3 – 5 |
| 01/11 | @ West Branch | ppd. | 3 – 5 |
| 01/14 | HARMONY | 51 – 36 | 4 – 5 |
| 01/16 | DUBOIS CENTRAL | 41 – 56 | 4 – 6 |
| 01/17 | @ Elk County Catholic | 47 – 63 | 4 – 7 |
| 01/20 | KANE | 37 – 57 | 4 – 8 |
| 01/25 | RIDGWAY | 45 – 53 | 4 – 9 |
| 01/27 | @ Brockway | 31 – 40 | 4 – 10 |
| 01/31 | @ Harmony | ppd. | 4 – 10 |
| 02/01 | GLENDALE | 46 – 35 | 5 – 10 |
| 02/03 | JOHNSONBURG | 48 – 47 | 6 – 10 |
| 02/07 | @ DuBois Central | ||
| 02/08 | CLEARFIELD | ||
| 02/10 | SHEFFIELD | ||
| 02/14 | @ Hickory | ||
| 02/15 | @ West Branch | ||
| 02/16 | @ Harmony |