HYDE — It’s the final week of the regular season for high school basketball, and for the Lady Bison of Clearfield, it meant some home cooking as they would be inside the Bison Gymnasium. Hoping to ride the stretch of winning three consecutive games, they welcomed their rivals from down the road, the Curwensville Lady Tide for a Wednesday night showdown. For Curwensville, it would be the conclusion of a tough season on the hardwood, as they were looking to close out the year with a positive finish.
Depending on what side of the ball you were on, it was either an offensive struggle or a defensive lock down. Since going to the press defense this year with a new coaching staff, Clearfield has put a lot more pressure on the opposition. On this night, it led to turnovers, points, and more opportunities at the basket, as Clearfield achieved the 53-17 victory to pull within reach of a .500-record in head coach Missy Helsel’s inaugural season.
“The plan tonight was to come out, pressure (Curwensville) as much as we could. We tried to double-up (Alyssa) Bakaysa, and Emma (Hipps) did a great job on her,” Helsel said afterwards. “A lot of the turnovers tonight were because of our defense, the steals we got converted to points. That was what won the game tonight.”
The defensive pressure got to Curwensville early on, as the Tide had nine turnovers in the first eight minutes. Add in the difficulty taking the ball to the basket, and Curwensville only finished 2-for-10 on the floor. On the opposite end, Clearfield was getting those turnovers quickly, putting up 21 points in the first quarter to take a six-possession lead into the second quarter.
Many of those turnovers came from Alayna Winters, who finished with eight points, but also got eight steals on the night, helping give her teammates more opportunities on the offensive side of the ball.
“She is a defensive specialist. Any time we are looking to shut someone down, she is the one we’re going to,” Helsel said. “Her defense has improved over the course of the year. I wouldn’t want to send any of my girls to play against her, that’s for sure.”
Clearfield’s offensive output continued in the second quarter, doubling up the Tide on the scoreboard to take a 35-12 lead into halftime. Curwensville’s struggles with the press defense were evident as they had 33 turnovers on the night, and finished just 6-for-40 from the floor.
“That’s just something we’ve struggled with this year,” Curwensville head coach Bob Desmitt said afterwards. “We had difficulties all year against man defense, and I think what happens is we begin to panic, and that leads to more turnovers and more frustration.”
The second half belonged to Clearfield as they kept Curwensville in check through the third quarter, despite both squads coming out a bit flat. But, the press defense kept the Lady Tide off the scoreboard for the majority of the second half, including a complete shutout in the final eight minutes. At the same time, Clearfield continued to ride the momentum to put the running clock into effect.
Clearfield was led in scoring by Cayleigh Walker, finishing with a game-high 15 points. Hipps chipped in another 12, along with a six-pack each of rebounds and steals. Freshman Hannah Glunt led Clearfield on the boards, pulling down 12 on the night. Curwensville, meanwhile, saw Skylar Pentz lead scoring with eight points, while Bakaysa finished with a game-high 13 rebounds and seven blocks.
Clearfield also won the opening junior varsity contest, 28-10.
Curwensville’s season came to a close, with a final record of 5-17. Desmitt watched as his team embraced one another, knowing it was the final time they as a group would compete together. His team is seeing five players graduate this year, with three of them being starters. Bakaysa, Kyra Henry and Austyn Guiher all saw their careers on the high school hardwood come to a close, and Desmitt already knew that players like that don’t come along often.
“I already can say that next year, those are big shoes to fill. The seniors have gone through a lot, especially with the craziness of last year,” he said.
Meanwhile, Clearfield is on a four-game win streak, and have won five of their last six. All that energy that has gotten them to those victories is exactly what Helsel is hoping continues into their regular-season finale Thursday night against Huntingdon.
“I hope this roll continues because we are looking for and wanting a win (Thursday) night. Huntingdon has a long trip to make, and we know what we have to do,” she said. “We lost to them earlier this season, but we know what is on the line on our home court. It could not only put us at 11-11 for the season, but also 7-7 in the Mountain League.
“It will be extremely nice to get a win and get us into the playoffs.”
Tip-off for junior varsity action is at 6 p.m. with the varsity action to follow.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Curwensville 5 7 5 0 – 17
Clearfield 21 14 8 10 – 53
Curwensville – 17
Alyssa Bakaysa 2 0-0 4, Kyra Henry 1 0-3 2, Austyn Guiher 0 0-0 0, Skylar Pentz 2 4-6 8, Karleigh Freyer 0 0-0 0, Jaiden Weber 0 0-0 0, Savannah Carfley 0 0-0 0, Brooklynn Price 0 0-0 0, Addison Butler 1 1-2 3, Rachelle Anderson 0 0-0 0, Janelle Passmore 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 6 5-11 17.
Clearfield – 53
Emma Hipps 6 0-2 12, Lauryn Kitchen 2 0-0 4, McKenna Lanager 0 0-0 0, Riley Ryen 2 2-2 8, Cayleigh Walker 6 3-4 15, Alayna Winters 4 0-0 8, Hannah Glunt 2 2-2 6. TOTALS 22 7-10 53.
GAME STATISTICS
Curwensville/Clearfield
Shooting: 6-40/22-77
Rebounds: 32/30
Fouls: 9/11
Turnovers: 33/13
Three-Point Shots: Ryen-2