PHILIPSBURG — The previous week for the Clearfield Lady Bison was a struggle in the simplest of terms. The squad fell two games below .500 for the first time all season, despite some strong play on the floor the entire time. Hoping to correct that, the girls loaded up the bus for a quick trip east on Rt. 322 to face off with the Lady Mounties of Philipsburg-Osceola, a team they beat decisively earlier this season.
The Lady Mounties did put up more points than the prior game, but the Lady Bison also put up the same amount as the first encounter. Clearfield put on a clinic from start to finish, taking the season sweep with a 58-25 triumph.
Clearfield started fast, with Cayleigh Walker and Hannah Glunt accounting for eight of the team’s 17 points in the first quarter. Defensively, they held P-O to just six shots from the floor the entire first half. At halftime, Clearfield held a 33-12 advantage, and was feeling really good at how things were going through 16 minutes of play.
The only quarter where P-O managed to hit double figures was in the third, as they matched their entire first-half output. For the Lady Mounties, Khendyl Sharper led scoring with 10 points.
Clearfield’s defense showed upin the second half, as they would only allow a single point in the final quarter. The contest went to the Mercy Rule at that point, as head coach Missy Helsel pulled her starters to let some of the younger players get some minutes on the floor. Still, they would work hard and prevented P-O from getting in the basket. The Lady Bison were paced by both Glunt and Walker, scoring 21 and 16 points, respectively.
With a bit of a break in the schedule, Clearfield will take some time to get a few more practices in, because the Lady Bison (7-8) will host Hollidaysburg on Thursday. The two faced off in a matinee contest back on December 17, with Clearfield falling, 60-31. Junior varsity will tip at 6 p.m. with the varsity to follow at approximately 7:30.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Clearfield 17 16 15 10 – 58
Philipsburg-Osceola 6 6 12 1 – 25
Clearfield – 58
Hannah Glunt 9 1-2 21, Alayna Winters 2 0-0 5, Cayleigh Walker 5 6-8 16, Riley Ryen 3 2-2 8, Mia Helsel 3 0-2 8, Arika Jones 0 0-0 0, Myleigh Hudson 0 0-0 0, Abrielle Hodanish 0 0-0 0, Elia Evilsizor 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 22 9-14 58.
Philipsburg-Osceola – 25
Lily Warlow 1 1-2 4, Maddy Malinich 0 0-0 0, Emily Gutsky 3 0-0 7, Khendyl Sharper 4 2-2 10, Reagan Thorp 2 0-0 4, Kaycie Hughes 0 0-0 0, Bella Minarchick 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 10 3-4 25.
