HYDE — Returning to their home hardwood, the Clearfield Lady Bison were ready to get on the winning side of their record following their loss this past Friday against Bellefonte. But, the Mountain League stretch of their schedule continued as the Huntingdon Lady Bearcats came to town for the first meeting between the two squads this season.
The game could be summed up by missed opportunities, missed points, and frustration. Clearfield fell behind early, and despite a rally late in the first half, they would fall to the visitors, 54-32.
“I felt we missed a lot of makeable shots, especially layups, that we’ve made in other contests that really give us an edge,” Lady Bison head coach Missy Helsel said afterwards. “We missed quite a few tonight that would’ve kept us in it, especially in the first half.”
Huntingdon started quickly on the floor after the opening tip, but the Lady Bison would not let them get away easily. After a couple early buckets from the two Lily’s on the Bearcats roster, Fiscus and Borger, Clearfield got on the board with a foul shot by Hannah Glunt. The two squads would trade buckets, but the Lady Bearcats pulled away to a two-possession lead after eight minutes, 16-10.
The second quarter saw Clearfield claw back to pull within one point at certain points, but the missed shots in the quarter kept Huntingdon ahead. The Lady Bison were only 4-for-13 in the second quarter, despite limiting Huntingdon to just six points. Going into the locker room down 22-20, it still felt like Clearfield was playing behind by a lot more. In the first half, the 8-for-23 shooting stat was hard to overcome, and Helsel admitted when the shots didn’t fall, it was a domino effect.
“It hurts their confidence, and it’s hard to bounce back. We still battled, and kept taking shots, which is what we want them to do,” she said.
When it came to the second half, the missed shots yielded devastating results, as Huntingdon would roar to life in a big way. Borger would put up 12 of her game-high 21 points in the final 16 minutes, while Fiscus added in another 12 in the same time frame. She finished the night with 19 points.
Clearfield still continued to battle hard, but only managed to put up another six shots in the basket in the second half. The Lady Bison finished the night 13-for-48, with Riley Ryen leading the way with 14 points. Hannah Glunt managed adding in another 12, but all came in the first half.
Helsel admitted that her team battled hard, but not being able to penetrate on the change of possession, leading to turnovers, left a frustrating feeling in the mindset of the entire team.
“I know we are better than that in a press break, and I think the girls need to feel that pressure more often so they get more comfortable. It helps them make the right and wrong decision, and I know they get frustrated out there,” she said. “We do too (as coaches), but it’s a work in progress and we have to keep working at that part of our game.
“We see glimpses of it, and when we see it, it’s really good and we need more of that.”
Clearfield also dropped the opening junior varsity contest, 30-12.
With an even 6-6 record, there is no rest for the Lady Bison because they are back at it Wednesday night for a non-league showdown on the road against the Lady Cardinals of DuBois Central Catholic. Varsity is slated to tip-off at 7:15 p.m.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Huntingdon 16 6 14 18 – 54
Clearfield 10 10 6 6 – 32
Huntingdon – 54
Lily Fiscus 7 2-4 19, Jordan Patrick 3 2-2 8, Lily Borger 8 2-2 21, Morgan Guisler 1 0-0 2, Kaylee Overry 1 0-0 2, Reagan Orenshaw 0 0-0 0, Allison Lynn 0 0-0 0, Alivia Edwards 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 21 6-8 54.
Clearfield – 32
Hannah Glunt 4 2-4 12, Alayna Winters 1 0-0 2, Cayleigh Walker 1 0-0 2, Riley Ryen 6 0-0 14, Mia Helsel 1 0-0 2, Arika Jones 0 0-0 0, Myleigh Hudson 0 0-0 0, Jaylee Gill 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 13 2-4 32.
GAME STATISTICS
Huntingdon/Clearfield
- Shooting: 21-49/13-48
- Rebounds: 28/19
- Fouls: 9/12
- Turnovers: 18/16
- Three-Point Shots: Fiscus-3, Borger-3/Glunt-2, Ryen-2