WINGATE — It has been an extremely tough stretch of the season for the Clearfield Lady Bison as the month of January has not been kind. Head coach Joey Castagnolo has seen his team drop the last six games, and now the hope is to have a successful stretch run to have a respectable final record. That quest had to start beginning with a trip to Wingate to face off against the Lady Eagles of Bald Eagle.
In three quarters, the squads battled one another to a draw, but the Lady Bison found their groove in the final eight minutes, offensively and defensively, as they held the Lady Eagles to just four points in the final stanza while quadrupling BEA’s output to secure a 53-40 victory.
Clearfield took early control, as they drained 16 points in the first quarter, compared to the 12 that Bald Eagle dropped. But, the second quarter went the opposite way and heading into the locker room, Clearfield only held a 25-24 advantage.
Bald Eagle made it even more interesting in the third quarter, as that one-point difference was erased and at the end of 24 minutes, it was 36-all, making the final quarter one that was all about leaving it on the hardwood.
That is when the Bison found a way to win. With the Lady Eagles only having seven players on the roster, their legs were getting tired, but they were still competing hard. But, Clearfeld was not letting up as their quick pace was still running full speed, and that led to quick buckets and strong defense. In the final quarter, Tesa Miller bucketed eight of her team-high 13 points, while Megan Durandetta added in one of her two shots from beyond the arc to put the game out of reach. Kylie Van Tassel was the other Bison to hit double figures, reaching 12 points.
Clearfield’s offense drained 17 points in that final quarter, but it was the defense that made the biggest difference.
Bald Eagle’s leading scorer for the game, Maddie Perry, added in 16 points, but was held to just three in the final quarter. In fact, Perry’s three points ultimately were 75 percent of the offensive output the Lady Eagles had in the final frame. One additional free throw from Katie Snyder was the only other points the home squad added, as the Lady Bison defense shut things down to get back on the winning streak.
At 3-11, Clearfield will remain on the road as their next slated game is a non-league contest on Tuesday night against Saint Marys. Junior varsity will tip at 6 p.m. with the varsity to follow.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Clearfield 16 9 11 17 – 53
Bald Eagle 12 12 12 4 – 40
Clearfield – 53
Durandetta 3 0-0 8, Ky. VanTassel 4 1-1 12, Hipps 3 0-0 6, Bender 3 1-3, Miller 5 3-4 13, Fedder 0 0-0 0, Alt 1 0-0 2, Ryan 0 0-0 0, Ryen 1 0-0 2, Kitchen 1 0-0 3, Ki. VanTassel 0 0-0 0, Gaines 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 19 5-8 53.
Bald Eagle – 40
Barnhart 5 0-0 13, Kilmer 0 0-0 0, Perry 6 2-4 16, Herr 0 0-0 0, Hoover 2 1-2 5, Snyder 1 1-2 3, Serb 0 3-8 3. TOTALS 14 7-16 40.
Lady Bison Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 12/06 & 07 | @ Brookville Tip-off Tourney | ||
| 12/06 | North Clarion | 8 – 44 | 0 – 1 |
| 12/07 | Clarion-Limestone | 37 – 40 | 0 – 2 |
| 12/11 | BALD EAGLE AREA | 38 – 47 | 0 – 3 |
| 12/13 | HUNTINGDON | 20 – 67 | 0 – 4 |
| 12/17 | @ Philipsburg-Osceola | 59 – 40 | 1 – 4 |
| 12/20 | TYRONE | 44 – 61 | 1 – 5 |
| 12/27 | @ Curwensville | 49 – 16 | 2 – 5 |
| 01/03 | PUNXSUTAWNEY | 27 – 48 | 2 – 6 |
| 01/06 | ST. JOSEPH ACADEMY | 31 – 52 | 2 – 7 |
| 01/08 | @ Penns Valley | 55 – 20 | 2 – 8 |
| 01/10 | CENTRAL | 20 – 49 | 2 – 9 |
| 01/14 | @ DuBois | 31 – 43 | 2 – 10 |
| 01/15 | @ Bellefonte | 38 – 60 | 2 – 11 |
| 01/17 | @ Bald Eagle Area | 53 – 40 | 3 – 11 |
| 01/21 | @ St. Marys | ||
| 01/22 | @ Huntingdon | ||
| 01/24 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | ||
| 01/27 | CURWENSVILLE | ||
| 01/28 | @ Tyrone | ||
| 01/31 | PENNS VALLEY | ||
| 02/05 | @ Central | ||
| 02/07 | BELLEFONTE |