HYDE — If there ever was a more spectacular way to finish out the home schedule for the Clearfield Lady Bison, Monday night provided a classic. With the visiting Penns Valley Lady Rams coming in for the final Mountain League showdown this season for the home squad, the Bison Gym was electric from opening tip to final buzzer.
Despite falling behind early, Clearfield found itself a spark. With the student section donning the cowboy hats and flannel for Country and Western night, Clearfield roared back from a first-half deficit to cause a lot of “achy breaky hearts” for the visitors, taking a 47-43 win that could be the signature come-from-behind victory on the season.
“What a ball game. They play so hard, for them to come out and play that many minutes, every game,” Lady Bison head coach Missy Helsel said afterwards. “Cayleigh (Walker) battles, Alayna (Winters) is spectacular on defense, Mia (Helsel)stepping up as a freshman, Hannah (Glunt) giving everything she has. Riley (Ryen) gets banged around for as small as she is, but the effort she gives equals it.
“I am so proud of all these girls.”
Proud is an understatement as after both squads started slowly, with things tied at four points each, the Lady Rams found some momentum in the first, getting out to a 7-0 run before a late timeout stopped the run. After one quarter, Clearfield fell behind by three possessions, 13-6. It was similar in the second quarter, with some moments seeing the two foes go tit-for-tat in the scoring. Still, after 16 minutes, it was Penns Valley going into the locker room holding a 27-18 advantage. Knowing that the game was not completely out of reach, the second half would be key.
“When we went in and talked at halftime, we recognized what defense we need to play against a ball club like Penns Valley,” Helsel said. “They have to be hungry on both ends of the court, and that’s what lights that fire.”
Apparently, what was served at halftime was a buffet because in less than a minute after the third quarter began, Clearfield put up three points. Another 30 second later, a deep three-pointer by Helsel. After a slew of four consecutive free throws, what was an eight-point gap was suddenly a single point lead courtesy of a 10-0 run to start the third quarter.
“The spark ignited, and they did not want to lose this game on their home court. Penns Valley, they have some great players, and battle us every time we face off,” Helsel said.
Defensively, Clearfield put the Rams on lock down, forcing seven turnovers and finishing the third quarter on a 15-4 run to take a 33-31 lead into the final quarter. The rally in the third was fueled by Ryen, who put up seven of her team-high 13 points in the stanza. Four of the starting five for the Lady Bison finished in double figures, as Glunt put up 12, Helsel added 10, and Walker pulled off a double-double, bucketing 10 points and pulling down 16 rebounds.
The final quarter was the one that got interesting, as the momentum between both squads would go back and forth. Clearfield would pull out to a double-digit lead, but at the same time would still see the turnover bug catch them when it hurt the most. Scotty Dinges had most of those steals on the night, leading her team with six, while finishing with a game-high 14 points.
“We did have some turnovers there that could have been costly, not sure why. We know better than that, especially out front with Mia, Riley and Hannah,” Helsel said. “Those are the ball handlers we want out there, so it’s something we can work on over the next week. When we run into a situation like that again, we don’t want to make those mistakes, and that’s what’s important.”
The Rams would pull to within two possessions as the final minutes began, but after getting into the one-plus opportunities, struggled at the foul line. Avery Dinges missed a pair, while Ann-Marrie McMurtrie missed an early opportunity. She would put a pair down late, helping reach her own double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
With the score sitting at 45-43 in the waning seconds, Penns Valley called its second of two timeouts in the final minute. With the ball spotted just beyond the wing, it was a spot where Helsel knew what her team had to do, which was communicate.
“Those seconds were going to be the most intense defensive seconds they have played in a long time. They knew if there was ever a time to talk, work together, and be a unit, this was it,” she said. “They were going to set screens, hands in the face, and we did not want that ball in the paint.
“That was most important, not get in the paint, stay low, slide, and make them shoot from the outside, then secure the rebound.”
On the inbound pass, with the crowd at a fever pitch and the student section making the most noise it had all night, Scotty Dinges was kept just inside the arc for a jumper off the right. The ball bounced on the back of the rim, and the rebound fight was on between five of the girls. Somehow, Winters found the ball and caught a fast break down the left side. The chase was on, but the game was ticking away as the Rams tried to get a foul to prevent the shot. Not only did the foul not make it in time, Winters put up a layup as the buzzer went off to set the 47-43 final, and Helsel suddenly took a huge sigh of relief on the bench that the game had finally ended.
Clearfield would drop the junior varsity contest to start the night, 33-21.
The Lady Bison were all smiles, partially because they got the win, but also because the final home game of the season had the most fan support, the most passion, and maybe the most satisfying support of all the games this season. Helsel spoke of the crowd on the night, and how they have been for the entire year.
“Wrestling I don’t believe was anywhere, the boys team I believe had a practice then came down. You saw many of those guys over there, like Kai (Lynch), Cole Miller; that is huge for these girls,” she said. To see the support from the fans tonight, it’s Riley’s last home game, it really provided a spark tonight on our country and western night. We walked the line like Johnny Cash.”
One game remains on the schedule for the Lady Bison (10-11), as they look to finish out the year at the .500-mark. They will have to wait to compete in that final game, as it comes next Tuesday, February 14, against DuBois.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Penns Valley 13 14 4 12 – 43
Clearfield 6 12 15 14 – 47
Penns Valley – 43
Julia Emel 4 2-2 10, Ann-Marie Mcmurtrie 3 2-3 10, Lilly Smith 0 0-0 0, Avery Dinges 1 2-4 5, Scotty Dinges 7 0-4 14, Ellie Romig 0 0-0 0, Elle Dinges 2 0-2 4, Paige Dobson 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 17 6-15 43.
Clearfield – 47
Hannah Glunt 3 6-7 12, Alayna Winters 1 0-0 2, Cayleigh Walker 3 4-8 10, Riley Ryen 3 5-6 13, Mia Helsel 3 3-4 10, Jaylee Gill 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 13 18-25 47.
GAME STATISTICS
Penns Valley/Clearfield
- Shooting: 17-70/13-51
- Rebounds: 26/30
- Fouls: 18/16
- Turnovers: 17/24
- Three-Point Shots: Mcmurtrie-2, A. Dinges/Ryen-2, Helsel
- Sideline Warning-Penns Valley, 7:18 in 4th
Lady Bison Scoreboard:
Date Opponent Score Record
12/02 & 03 @ Brookville Tip-off Tourney
12/02 vs. Clarion-Limestone 41 – 43 0 – 1
12/03 vs. Brookville 53 – 42 1 – 1
12/05 @ Curwensville 48 – 20 2 – 1
12/07 ST. MARYS 35 – 58 2 – 2
12/09 PUNXSUTAWNEY 37 -63 2 – 3
12/13 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA 58 – 15 3 – 3
12/17 @ Hollidaysburg 31 – 60 3 – 4
12/20 BALD EAGLE AREA 42 – 35 4 – 4
12/27 CURWENSVILLE 64 – 22 5 – 4
01/03 @ Tyrone 41 – 62 5 – 5
01/06 BELLEFONTE 60 – 50 6 – 5
01/10 HUNTINGDON 23 – 54 6 – 6
01/11 @ DuBois Central Catholic 57 – 65 6 – 7
01/13 @ Penns Valley 46 – 58 6 – 8
01/16 @ Philipsburg-Osceola 58 – 25 7 – 8
01/19 HOLLIDAYSBURG 32 – 70 7 – 9
01/23 @ Bald Eagle Area 46 – 37 8 – 9
01/26 TYRONE 39 – 51 8 – 10
01/30 @ Bellefonte 48 – 47 9 – 10
02/02 @ Huntingdon 44 – 51 9 – 11
02/06 PENNS VALLEY 47 – 43 10 – 11
02/14 @ DuBois