CLEARFIELD – The Lady Bison kicked off their 2022 in a home game on Tuesday night as they hosted the Lady Eagles of Tyrone. A tough first-half of shooting was something Clearifield (3-6) couldn’t overcome as they fell to Tyrone, 57-30.
The Lady Bison were only able to score eight points in the first half, while Tyrone started the game on a tear to take a 26-8 lead into halftime.
“We knew Tyrone was a good program and a tough team coming into tonight,” said Lady Bison Head Coach Missy Helsel. “We emphasized defense and making sure we were getting back in transition. I think our girls did pretty well with that. The score may not reflect it, but our girls played pretty sound defense.
Tyrone really shot the lights out. They have some shooters on that team, and even with a hand in their face, they were knocking down shots from behind the arc.”
The third quarter saw the offense gain some confidence as the 15 points scored by Clearfield were the most they scored in any quarter. However, the Lady Eagles of Tyrone continued with a strong offensive showing as they hit four of their six overall shots from deep in the game in the third quarter to extend their lead going into the fourth.
Despite this, Clearfield didn’t stop working and playing, something Coach Helsel said she was proud of in the post game.
“Our team has the mentality that they are not going to give up. We came right out of halftime and it is Tyrone ball, but we got them to turn it over right away. That was a tough battle tonight, but I was happy with how the girls performed. They put up a good battle, and I think they recognized and were happy with their defensive performance.”
Clearfield did exhibit some balanced scoring in this game, but just not in the quantity that they hoped. Emma Hipps led the way with 10, while Cayleigh Walker added nine for the Lady Bison. Riley Ryen and Alayna Winters each added four points, with the scoring being rounded out by Hannah Glunt who connected on the Lady Bison’s lone three ball for the game.
“We are working hard on finishing a lot of our shots inside,” explained Helsel. “We had probably about 10 or 11 contested layups early on in the ballgame
and if we learn to finish those and get more comfortable making those shots around the basket with a hand in our face or with a body up against them, it will really help us.”
“Those shots in the beginning of a game keep a team in a ball game, and those are things that our team is starting to get more comfortable with. But, we still have to do a better job with that.”
Tyrone showcased their depth when it comes to the scoring department as they had seven different players connect on a shot from the field in this one. Three double digit scorers paced the Lady Eagles as Jaida Parker led all scorers with 14. She was followed up by Stephanie Ramsey who added 11 for the game, and Kayelin Gibbons who chipped in 10.
The Lady Bison will get back to practice for two days before hitting the road for a Mountain League showdown against Bellefonte on Friday, January 7. Junior varsity is set to tip-off at 6:00 p.m., while the varsity game is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.
“We are going to keep building on what we have. We’ve got a sound offense and a sound defense. They’re getting more comfortable bringing the ball up the floor under pressure. We are looking forward to the Bellefonte game. We are excited because we are getting better every game, and that is what counts. I see these girls getting better in different areas of the game, and that is what’s driving us. It will be a good battle down there on Friday.”
TYRONE – 57
Marissa Lewis 1 1-2 3, Stephanie Ramsey 3 0-0 11, Allison Weston 1 0-0 2, Emma Getz 2 0-0 7, Jaida Parker 7 0-0 14, Riley Corl 1 0-0 2, Kayelin Gibbons 5 0-1 10, Alayna Greene 0 0-2 0, Bree Paul 1 0-0 8, Lerelle Eades 0 0-0 0, Summer Shaw 0 0-0 0, TOTALS – 21 1-5 57
CLEARFIELD – 30
Taylor Hudson 0 0-0 0, Kinley Reed 0 0-0 0 Hannah Glunt 0-0 3, Alayna Winters 1 2-2 4, Cayleigh Walker 4 1-3 9, Riley Ryen, 2 0-0 4, Emma Hipps 5 0-2 10, Mckenna Lanager 0 0-0 0, Lauryn Kitchen 0 0-0 0, Alaina Fedder 0 0-0 0, TOTALS – 12 3-7 30
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
TYRONE 15 11 21 10 57
CLEARFIELD 4 4 15 7 30
THREE-POINTERS: TYRONE – 6 Ramsey 3, Paul 2, Getz 1 CLEARFIELD – 1 Glunt 1