DUBOIS — After having to suffer a tough loss to a team that is ranked in the state the night prior, the Clearfield Lady Bison needed to get refocused as their season was not done. With five games in as many days, the game before had to quickly be forgotten about, because the next one needed to be the main focus. Wednesday night, the Lady Bison made the journey to DuBois to face the Lady Cardinals of DuBois Central Catholic, a team they had beaten just one week prior, 53-44.
After a sluggish start by both teams, the Lady Bison suddenly found their stride in the second quarter, getting out to a lead that would ultimately hold, as they achieved their ninth win of the season with a 56-44 triumph.
Neither squad saw much success in the first quarter. In fact, in eight minutes, both sides combined for just 10 points. But, one particular basket had a major effect on the Lady Bison.
With just under two minutes remaining in the opening stanza, Clearfield had an open look from outside the arc. Megan Durandetta found herself open on the left baseline, and got dished the ball with an open shot, one of her best locations for the deep ball. The shot went into the net, tying the game, but that basket meant a lot more to Clearfield than just points on the board. With that shot, it would be the 162nd-career basket from beyond three-point range, making Durandetta the new all-time leader in three-point shooting for Clearfield. The record stood for 21 years, previously held by Class of 2000 alum Amanda Swanson.
Clearfield did not have any time to celebrate the moment, but what it did was ignite the Lady Bison for the second quarter.
After only scoring five points in the first quarter, the Lady Bison picked up the pace in the second. With confidence on their side, and intelligent play on the court, Clearfield put up 23 points, while holding the Lady Cardinals to just 10. Emma Hipps and Riley Ryen would account for 18 points in the frame, with Hipps finishing with a game-high 18 points on the night. Ryen would add in another 15 herself, with half of those coming at the free throw line, where she finished 8-for-11. Paige Rhine also would hit double figures, accounting for another 10 points.
The Lady Cardinals tried coming back in the third stanza, putting up 18 points compared to Clearfield’s 12, but still found themselves down three possessions.
Faith Jacob would put up 14 for DuBois Central Catholic, while Paris Farley added in another 11. However, the Lady Bison managed to hold on in the final stanza, putting up 16 points to cruise to the win. Both games between these two squads were very similar, both with high scorers and the actual final. DuBois Central Catholic scored 44 points in each contest, while the Lady Bison bested their total from a week prior by three.
Clearfield (9-9) has an opportunity to finish the regular season above .500 for the first time since the 2011-2012 campaign where they finished 15-8. To do that, they must win two of their remaining three games.
That will begin with back-to-back nights against the Lady Raiders of Bellefonte on Thursday and Friday. Thursday’s game will be at Bellefonte, with a varsity tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Clearfield 5 23 12 16 – 56
D.C. Catholic 5 10 18 11 – 44
CLEARFIELD – 56
Riley Ryen 3 8-11 15, Cayleigh Walker 1 1-2 3, Emma Hipps 7 2-2 18, Paige Rhine 5 0-0 10, Megan Durandetta 2 0-0 6, Alaina Fedder 2 0-0 4, Lauryn Kitchen 0 0-0 0, Alayna Winters 0 0-0 0, Ally Gaines 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 20 11-15 56.
DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC – 44
Paris Farley 4 0-0 11, Faith Jacob 7 0-0 14, Jessy Frank 2 0-0 5, Kayley Risser 1 6-10 8, Sophia Ginter 0 0-0 0, Rose Whipple 2 0-0 6, JoAnne Case 0 0-0 0, Lauren Davidson 0 0-0 0, Haley Semencik 0 0-0 0, Braylee Lukehart 0 0-0 0, Sara Hugler 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 16 6-10 44.