Lady Bison Surge in Third Quarter to Top Philipsburg-Osceola

PHILIPSBURG — Tuesday’s trip to the Philipsburg-Osceola High School was quite the endeavor for the Clearfield Lady Bison basketball team.  With no junior varsity contest, the game was set for an hour earlier start.  Add in the fact the main road into Philipsburg was closed off due to downed power lines, and the game between Clearfield and the Lady Mounties was extremely unique.

However, despite all those odds, the Lady Bison found themselves in a spot they had not seen all year:  dominating.  A stellar third-quarter surge propelled Clearfield to a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, as they earned their first win on the season, 59-40, over P-O.

“I knew exactly what was happening.  I told the girls, ‘Let’s get in it, run around, and make things happen’ and they did,” head coach Joey Castagnolo said afterwards.

Specifically, he was noting a stretch run in the third quarter that gave Clearfield a decisive advantage.  After the first eight minutes, Clearfield held a slight 13-11 advantage.  But, in the second quarter the Lady Mounties began finding openings in the press defense of the visiting Lady Bison, and pushed to hold a two-point advantage heading into halftime.  But, early in the third quarter, the key players for the home squad found themselves in foul trouble.  Kyleigh Kennedy exited in the quarter when she earned her fourth foul, while Reagan Thorp added a third.

At that point, the Lady Bison went on a roll that was unmatched.

In a span of 3:39 in the quarter, Clearfield went on a 19-2 run that saw them surge to the lead for good.  The play from the senior leaders on the squad, especially the play of center Tesa Miller made the difference. The tough play of one of their best players led to a game-high 16 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks and a pair of steals.  The rest of the team fed off her energy in the second half, especially in the third quarter, as the Bison hit nine shots from the floor, finishing the third stanza with a 23-8 rout that put P-O on their heels.

“That’s something I’ve been asking from her,” Castagnolo said.  “She’s been dealing with an ankle injury, and she was defending against Kennedy, her cousin.  Tonight, she won.”

Megan Durandetta and Kylie Van Tassel each made it into double digits on the night, with 13 and 10 points, respectively.  Olivia Bender was second to Miller on the boards with nine, while she shared with leading assists with Van Tassel.

P-O ran the floor hard in the first half to get the lead heading into the break, but the Bison defense began to turn up the tempo when they forced 14 turnovers in the third quarter, holding the Lady Mounties 3-for-10 in the third quarter, and 5-for-25 in the second half.

“That third quarter, it made all the difference.  We needed a game like this for our confidence.  I’m just so proud,” Castagnolo said.

Clearfield (1-4) hopes to carry that confidence into their next game, Friday night, at home against Tyrone.  Tip at 6 p.m. for the junior varsity, with varsity to follow.

SCORE BY QUARTER

Clearfield   13   11   23   12  –  59
Philipsburg-Osceola   11   15   8   6  –  40

Clearfield – 59

Durandetta 5 1-2 13, Ky. Van Tassel 4 0-0 10, Hipps 2 5-6 9, Bender 4 1-2 9, Miller 8 0-2 16, Alt 0 0-0 0, Ryan 0 0-0 0, Ryen 0 0-0 0, Kitchen 0 0-0 0, Kr. Van Tassel 0 0-0 0, Gaines 0 0-0 0, Fedder 1 0-0 2.  TOTALS 24 7-14 59.

Philipsburg-Osceola – 40

Bainey 3 0-2 7, Bordas 4 3-4 13, Potter 2 0-2 4, Thorp 1 0-2 2, Kennedy 4 6-9 14, Webster 0 0-0 0, Reed 0 0-0 0, Butterworth 0 0-0 0, Pinto 0 0-0 0, Sinclair 0 0-0 0.  TOTALS 14 9-17 40.

GAME STATISTICS
Clearfield/P-O

Shooting:  24-73/14-61

Turnovers:  28/31

Fouls:  17/14

Rebounds:  40/35

Three-Point Shots:  Durandetta-2, Ky. Van Tassel-2/Bainey, Bordas-2

Lady Bison Scoreboard: