BROOKVILLE — A familiar location, and a familiar starting point, welcomed a new season for the Clearfield Lady Bison on Friday night. Head coach Missy Helsel, her assistants, and the 2022-2023 squad loaded up the bus and headed west to once again take part in the Brookville Tip-Off Tournament. The Lady Bison drew the short straw, as they would play in the opening contest, facing off with Clarion-Limestone.
The game between the two squads ended up being a much closer contest than anticipated. But, for Clearfield, it was a consistent struggle to get the easy shot that ultimately was the deciding factor. Despite outscoring the opposition in nearly 75 percent of the game, Clearfield would fall in a heartbreaking 43-41 final.
Helsel admitted afterwards that her team struggled from the floor, specifically in the paint where they had issues getting the quick layups and easy points.
Early on, Clearfield would get scoring quickly, taking an early lead in the opening quarter, and holding onto an 11-7 advantage heading into the second stanza. The Lady Lions began crawling back, and would win the second quarter by the slightest of margins, however the Lady Bison would take the 21-18 advantage into the locker room.
Clearfield kept the pressure on in the second quarter as Hannah Glunt would put up six of her game-high 19 points. No other Clearfield player would eclipse double-digit scoring on the evening.
It would be the third quarter when the struggles caught up to Clearfield.
The Lady Lions took advantage, putting up 15 points in the stanza, compared to Clearfield’s seven. Alyssa Want would lead Clarion-Limestone in the game, putting up 12 points, while Jenna Dunn added in another 10.
Clearfield began roaring back in the final quarter, with the two squads keeping it close and Clearfield reeling in the Lady Lions. Unfortunately, the missed shots kept points off the board, and pushed Clearfield against host Brookville into the consolation game of the tournament. Tip-off for Clearfield (0-1) will be at 2 p.m.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Clarion-Limestone 7 11 15 10 – 43
Clearfield 11 10 7 13 – 41
Clarion-Limestone – 43
Kendall Dunn 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Want 4 4-6 12, Alex Leadbetter 4 1-3 9, Lexi Coull 2 0-1 4, KK Sebastian-Sims 2 2-4 6, Grace Shick 1 0-0 2, Ella Aaron 0 0-0 0, Jenna Dunn 4 2-3 10, Kaylee Smith 0 0-0 0, Audrey Aaron 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 14 8-13 43.
Clearfield – 41
Hannah Glunt 7 3-6 19, Alayna Winters 1 0-0 2, Cayleigh Walker 2 2-4 6, Riley Ryan 2 0-0 6, Mia Helsel 2 0-0 4, Arika Jones 0 0-0 0, Jaylee Gill 2 0-0 4. TOTALS 16 5-10 41.