HYDE — Despite the record, the Clearfield Lady Bison season thus far has not been as successful as the team has hoped. Lady Bison Head coach Missy Helsel has seen tough times through the first four games, but no quit at the same time. Friday night the squad was back in the Bison Gymnasium, ready to put a win on their record in front of the home crowd. On the opposite side, the Punxsutawney Lady Chucks were also focused on the hardwood.
For Clearfield, the struggles that they had just two days earlier showed up once more, as early turnovers, and ensuing points, handed Clearfield the 63-37 loss.
From the opening tip, Punxsutawney had their foot on the accelerator, putting up the first points mere seconds after the game began. At that point, they went into their full-court press defense, and Clearfield could not get around the pressure. The first quarter struggles cost the Bison; a time out by Helsel near the halfway mark halted an 11-0 run to start the night for Punxsutawney. Clearfield still had trouble in the remaining half of the quarter, only getting points off four foul shots from Riley Ryen, plus a jumper by Mia Helsel.
The key struggle in the quarter was ball handling, as Clearfield’s 10 turnovers in eight minutes allowed the Lady Chucks to race out to a 20-6 advantage after one quarter. Clearfield ultimately committed 26 turnovers in the contest.
Punxsutawney continued their run of scoring in the second quarter, going 8-for-13 from the floor, racing out to a 38-19 advantage heading into halftime.
In the third, the turnover bug struck again and the Lady Chucks made Clearfield pay with a 16-4 scoring onslaught that put the running clock into effect with approximately two minutes remaining in the quarter.
Punxsutawney had a trio of players put up 12 points each – Avary Powell, plus both Danielle and Samantha Griebel.
Despite the struggles, Clearfield managed to have a pair of players in double figures, with Mia Helsel accounting for a game-high 16 points, plus Hannah Glunt adding in another 13.
Coach Helsel was visibly aggravated with the play of her squad, heading into the locker room and spending extra time with the team for a post-game breakdown.
Clearfield would take the win in the junior varsity game, a 22-18 contest that was tight from tip to buzzer.
The Lady Bison (2-3) will have a few days to correct any miscues and struggles as they will officially start the Mountain League portion of their schedule when they play host to Philipsburg-Osceola on Tuesday. Tip-off will be at 6 p.m. for junior varsity, with the varsity contest to follow.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Punxsutawney 20 18 16 9 – 63
Clearfield 6 13 4 14 – 37
Punxsutawney – 63
Chloe Presbid 4 0-0 8, Daniell Griebel 5 1-2 12, Samantha Griebel 4 1-2 12, Olivia Burkett 4 0-0 9, Jolena Wintermeyer 0 0-0 0, Emily Wisnesky 0 0-0 0, Riley Doverspike 4 0-0 8, Emily McMahon 1 0-0 2, Avary Powell 6 0-0 12, Maddi Kriebel 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 28 2-4 63.
Clearfield – 37
Hannah Glunt 3 6-11 13, Cayleigh Walker 1 1-3 3, Riley Ryen 1 4-4 6, Mia Helsel 7 1-2 15, Arika Jones 0 0-0 0, Jaylee Gill 0 0-0 0, Myleigh Hudson 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 12 12-20 37.
GAME STATISTICS
Punxsutawney/Clearfield
- Shooting: 28-58/12-43
- Rebounds: 28/18
- Fouls: 13/9
- Turnovers: 18/26
- Three-Point Shots: D. Griebel, S. Griebel-3, Burkett/Glunt
