CURWENSVILLE — The start to the new season for the Curwensville Lady Tide has been about learning a new system, and each game has seen some improvement. Although no game has resulted in victory, confidence was seen each game, and it carried over each quarter. On Tuesday evening, the Tide welcomed in a familiar foe into Patton Hall. So familiar that they had just faced them three days earlier, the Moshannon Valley Lady Damsels. Moshannon Valley won the first game between the two squads on Saturday, 47-27, in the consolation game of the Taylor Harpster Memorial Tournament.
Fast forward three days, and it was a different game, as Curwensville was attacking, and getting rebounds on both ends of the court. However, a stagnant second half would cost the home squad, as they dropped the second game between the two schools, this being a 35-21 final.
The beginning of the game saw the two sides go bucket-for-bucket, neither getting out to a true lead at any point. A pair of buckets by Riley Wharton for the Lady Damsels made a key difference, as the visitors took a possession lead after eight minutes, 6-4. Moshannon Valley was able to extend the lead just a bit in the second quarter, but what kept the Lady Tide in the game through the quarter was being able to achieve rebounds on missed shots, on both ends of the court.
Curwensville almost doubled the rebounds of their opposition, pulling down 39 as a team, as Skylar Pentz led the Tide with 11 on the night.
Even with the rebounds, Curwensville struggled to get the ball in the basket, only going 2-for-14 in the quarter. Four free throws by Brooklynn Price kept the Tide in the game, but it was the visitors taking the 16-12 lead into the locker room.
Everything changed in the third quarter as turnovers once again became an issue on offense. Curwensville committed 31 turnovers on the night, 15 in the second half, limiting their opportunities to drive down the court as Moshannon Valley began pressing hard on defense.
The Lady Damsels outscored Curwensville 12-2 in the third quarter, led by both Wharton and Maddie McCoy, who finished the night with 10 and 12 points, respectively.
For Curwensville, both Price and Addison Butler were the high scorers, each accounting for six points, while the team overall struggled from the floor, shooting 7-for-47 on the night.
Head coach Donna Wheeler has a few days to regroup and set sights on the first win of her tenure with the Lady Tide as Curwensville (0-4) goes on the road Friday to take on Glendale.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Moshannon Valley 6 10 12 7 – 35
Curwensville 4 8 2 7 – 21
Moshannon Valley – 35
Sophia Demko 2 0-0 4, Abigail Reiter 0 0-1 0, Tessa Martin 0 0-1 0, Maddie McCoy 5 1-2 11, Alexis Clarkson 1 2-3 4, Ella Berg 1 0-0 2, Riley Wharton 5 0-0 10, Brooke Mihalko 1 2-4 4, Kendra Lewis 0 0-0 0, Leah Martin 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 15 5-11 35.
Curwensville – 21
Skylar Pentz 2 0-2 4, Jaiden Weber-Herring 0 1-2 1, Addison Butler 3 0-0 6, Karleigh Freyer 0 1-2 1, Falyn Williams 0 0-0 0, Natalie Wishchuck 1 1-2 3, Jovee Elensky 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 7 7-12 21.
GAME STATISTICS
Moshannon Valley/Curwensville
- Shooting: 15-51/7-47
- Rebounds: 20/39
- Fouls: 10/14
- Turnovers: 17/31
