HYDE — Preparation has been key for the upcoming 2019-2020 season for the Clearfield Lady Bison basketball squad. Coming off a season that saw a finish of 7-14 and a playoff appearance, head coach Joey Castagnolo knew that his team was returning with a solid core from last year. What the team did not have in the previous season was consistency, as at times their game play was solid and they kept the score close, while in others they were sloppy and in Castagnolo’s mind, began panicking.
Something that could potentially help the Lady Bison for the upcoming season is the fact they spent a majority of the summer playing with Castagnolo as part of the Clearfield YMCA Summer League.
The girls went undefeated in the league (11-0) and even competed in the DuBois YMCA summer league, finishing 10-3. All that time on the court over the summer is something that Castagnolo and his assistants are hoping can carry over into the new year.
Castagnolo’s squad only lost one senior from a season ago, but it was not just the game play of 1000-point scorer Alayna Ryan that they will miss, but also the leadership and direction she gave on the court.
However, returning for the Bison are a trio of starters that are experienced and saw much success on different ends of the court.
The inside play of Tesa Miller will be the first part to the puzzle, as she was hard to defend in the paint from a season ago, and was the Lady Bison’s best player on the boards both on offense and defense. Her place in the zone defense was critical in many games a year ago, and that is going to carry over into her senior season.
Megan Durandetta and McLain Alt both return as letter winners and from the 2018-2019 campaign at side guard. Unfortunately for the Lady Bison, despite suiting up for the recent team photo, junior letter winnwr Paige Rhine is unavailable this season at power forward due to her recovering from a knee injury she sustained during volleyball season.
Miller herself has played in the power forward position, so she could be having to do double duty on occasion to start the season.
The Lady Bison have a solid roster of 14 players, but trying to find the right balance of who will be in the starting rotation is yet to be determined. Alt, Miller, and Durandetta are surely in based on their experience and leadership, but with junior Kylie Van Tassell, and sophomores Olivia Bender and Emma Hipps all returning after last year’s run, the Lady Bison have one of their largest varsity squads in recent years.
For Castagnolo and the Lady Bison to have the success they experienced in the summer league, they will need to get off to a start like they did a season ago. Through the first month of the year, Clearfield was 4-5, with many of the victories being decided by less than 10 points. However, the latter run of the season was a struggle for Clearfield, as they finished January with just three victories, and had a losing streak going into February.
However, the strong finish to the year with wins over Tyrone and Curwensville gave them a chance to play in the District IX playoffs, a goal that Castagnolo hopes to better from a season ago.
Consistency will be what the Lady Bison will need for the 2019-2020 season, and consistency could lead to victory come season’s end. The 2019-2020 season begins on Friday as Clearfield goes on the road as part of the Brookville Tip-Off tournament. They will face North Clarion at 3 p.m., and will compete the following day as part of the tournament as either in the consolation or the championship game.
Clearfield’s first home contest will be Wednesday, December 11, against Bald Eagle Area, with a special tip-off time of 6:30 p.m. as there will be no junior varsity game.
LADY BISON ROSTER
Players in BOLD are returning letter winners.
SENIORS: McLain Alt, Tesa Miller, Adrian Rowles
JUNIORS: Megan Durandetta, Ally Gaines, Faith Hull, Paige Rhine, Kirstie Van Tassel, Kylie Van Tassel
SOPHOMORES: Olivia Bender, Emma Hipps, Lauryn Kitchen
FRESHMEN: Alaina Fedder, Abby Ryan, Riley Ryan
2019-2020 Lady Bison Schedule
Junior Varsity begins at 6 p.m. with Varsity to follow, unless otherwise noted
DECEMBER
6: at Brookville tournament vs. Clarion-Limestone (3 p.m.), VARSITY ONLY; 7: Brookville tournament, consolation or championship; 11: BALD EAGLE AREA (6:30 p.m.), VARSITY ONLY; 13: HUNTINGDON; 17: at Philipsburg-Osceola (6:30 p.m.), VARSITY ONLY; 20: TYRONE; 27: at Curwensville
JANUARY
3: PUNXSUTAWNEY (JV 5 p.m., Varsity 6 p.m.); 6: ST. JOSEPH’S (7 p.m. VARSITY ONLY); 8: at Penns Valley; 9: at Saint Marys; 10: CENTRAL; 14: at Dubois; 15: at Bellefonte; 17: at Bald Eagle Area (6:30 p.m.), VARSITY ONLY; 22: at Huntingdon; 24: PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA (6:30 p.m.), VARSITY ONLY; 27: CURWENSVILLE; 28: at Tyrone; 31: PENNS VALLEY
FEBRUARY
5: at Central; 7: BELLEFONTE