PUNXSUTAWNEY – The Lady Bison (1-3) traveled to Jefferson County Wednesday night to take on the Lady Chucks of Punxsutawney for the back half of a back-to-back. Clearfield was unable to overcome a sluggish first quarter as they fell in this one 60-27.
The Lady Chucks began the game with intense full-court pressure which helped them to get out to a 24-3 advantage in the first quarter. Punxsutawney (2-0) also used a balanced scoring attack as eight different players were able to find the scoring column in the game. Chloe Presloid led all scorers as she poured in 18 points with teammate Kierstin Riley adding 17 of her own to help lead the Lady Chucks.
Despite a slow start to the game, the Lady Bison battled and were able to show they could match Punxsutawney at points. The second quarter saw the Lady Bison tie in the quarter scoring, with each team netting 15 in the second. In the fourth quarter, Clearfield also matched the Punxsutawney scoring output as both teams scored six points in the final period.
“We had a feeling they were going to come out and press right away,” said Lady Bison Head Coach Missy Helsel. “That’s just the type of tempo that team likes to play. They are a very seasoned team and that whole lineup is full of basketball players.”
From the onset of the game, Clearfield struggled to advance the ball up the floor against the smothering press the Lady Chucks elected to defend with.
“We struggled to get the ball up the floor and they turned it into points,” Helsel said. “They scored 24 points in the first quarter, and that dug us into a little bit of a hole. However, we came back and battled and tied in the second quarter with them and ended up tying in the fourth quarter. We had moments of things we did right and moments with other areas we are going to continue to work on.”
The Lady Bison had five players in the scoring column with another double-digit performance from Emma Hipps, who had 11 for the game on 6-8 from the free throw line. Cayleigh Walker was able to score seven with Hannah Glunt connecting on two two-point buckets. Riley Ryen connected on a three pointer in the game, while Alayna Winters rounded out the scoring for the road team with a two point bucket in the second quarter.
“Our team didn’t give up and kept battling. We changed up our defense a bit and went into a zone, but we can’t get caught sitting in a zone. We still have to be moving. The little things like that are what we need to work on and realize that we can do really well.”
Though the loss dropped Clearfield to 1-3 to begin the season, Coach Helsel credited a few of the team leaders for their positive attitudes in this one.
“She (Emma Hipps) is definitely going to be our leader,” said Coach Helsel. “She’s got a lot of drive. Even when being battled like she was tonight, she’s not going to give up and will continue to attack the basket and get herself to the foul line.”
“Overall, I am just proud of my girls. We tried some different things and made the most of some of these situations, but we are never going to give up on a game or on a team. Those leaders I have on the floor like Emma Hipps, Riley Ryen, and Lauryn Kitchen, those girls are going to keep pulling the other ones up and will keep pushing our team to get better.”
To round out the week, the Lady Bison will be hosts to the Hollidaysburg Golden Tigers (2-0), with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. Friday.
PUNXSUTAWNEY – 60
Danielle Griebel 2 0-0 6, Chloe Presloid 0 1-3 18, Amy Poole 0 0-0 0, Kierstin Riley 0 0-0 17, Maeve Hanley 4 1-2 5 Emily Mcmahan 0 0-0 2, Emily Dobbins 1 0-0 6, Riley Doverspike 0 0-0 0, Samantha Griebel 1 0-0 4, Avery Powell 2 0-0 2, TOTALS – 10 2-5 60
CLEARFIELD – 27
Taylor Hudson 0 0-0 0, Kinley Reed 1 0-0 0 Hannah Glunt 2 0-0 4, Kayla Reed 0 0-0 0, Alayna Winters 0 0-0 2 Cayleigh Walker 1 1-4 7 Riley Ryen, 1 0-0 3, Emma Hipps 0 6-8 11, Mckenna Lanager 0 0-0 0, Lauryn Kitchen 0 0-0 0, Alaina Fedder 0 0-0 0, TOTALS – 4 7-14 27
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
PUNXSUTAWNEY 24 15 15 6 60
CLEARFIELD 3 15 3 6 27
THREE-POINTERS: PUNXSUTAWNEY – 5 Dobbins 2, Presloid 2, Riley 1 CLEARFIELD – 2 Ryan 1, Hipps 1
