SPRING MILLS — The feeling among the Clearfield Lady Bison this season has been one that is of eagerness, success, and desire. With back-to-back wins last week, Clearfield was looking to keep that feeling alive and loaded up the bus for the long trip to Spring Mills for a battle against the Lady Rams of Penns Valley, the lone matchup between the two.
What started out as a dominant run started to nearly come to a crashing halt. A strong first half helped Clearfield immensely, as they would hold on long enough to achieve a 64-58 victory, their third in a row.
Right away, the fast pace of the “Iron Five” as they have been nicknamed, Clearfield was pushing the opposition. This pace would go two different ways, because Clearfield only managed to put four shots in the basket from the floor. At the same time, Penns Valley only managed to hit two. The first quarter would actually set the tone for the night, as the two teams combined for an astonishing 23 free throws. Due to the highly-publicized and discussed rule change for the season, the five-foul rule hit early and often. Clearfield managed to hit more shots, taking an 18-10 lead after eight minutes.
At the same time, some controversial foul calls were being disputed from both sides of the court. So much so, Clearfield head coach Missy Helsel argued to the point that officials had no option left except to blow the whistle and call a technical foul on the Lady Bison leader. The foul came in the first half, and in doing so gave Penns Valley a pair of foul shots with no opposition and possession of the ball. It also meant that Helsel still could coach the team, but had to do so for the remainder of the game sitting on the bench.
Still, the Lady Bison would keep pressing hard, and would double-up their opposition in the second quarter, taking a 38-19 lead into the locker room.
Both teams entered the second half wanting to either hold the lead, or make a charge. The Lady Rams took that desire to heart, as they would have a solid third quarter, limiting Clearfield to just nine points. What was a seven-possession lead suddenly was cut to just three at 47-39, with eight minutes left to go.
That pace ultimately would cause a lot of chaos in the final quarter, as both teams would continue to be called for foul after foul in the second half. It caused a lot of frustration, and was a big halt for either team’s momentum. Clearfield only managed to shoot four more shots from the floor in the final quarter, with many of the players and assistant coaches expressing frustration over the calls. Already having a warning for their actions, and Helsel having to coach from the seated position, officials put a halt to the argument as they called another technical foul on the Bison bench. It gave another pair of free throws to Penns Valley, keeping them in the hunt.
But, foul shooting would win the game as the Lady Bison managed to go 9-for-16 in the final quarter, while the Clearfield defense only had to witness the Lady Rams head to the line four times in the fourth quarter.
It was just enough to allow Clearfield to get the victory in a rather difficult game that saw neither team truly dominate.
The Lady Bison had the top-scorer on the night, as Cayleigh Walker bucketed 24 points. She was one of three in double figures for Clearfield, as Hannah Glunt accounted for 19 points, with Mia Helsel draining another 13, despite only going 4-for-9 at the line. For Penns Valley, Lilly Smith finished with 22 points, and Elle Dinges added in 11.
Clearfield (8-5) starts a four-game run inside the Bison Gymnasium beginning Thursday as they will play host to the Lady Bisons of Bedford. Tentatively, this will be an early tip-off as currently the varsity contest is set for 6:15 p.m.
NOTE: Game time provided via LadyBisonSports.org. Visit the Clearfield Lady Bison Basketball page on Facebook for any changes to tip-off, including varsity start time and if a jayvee contest has been added.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Clearfield 18 20 9 17 – 64
Penns Valley 10 9 20 19 – 58
Clearfield – 64
Sonny Diehl 2 1-2 5, Hannah Glunt 4 10-14 19, Alayna Winters 1 0-0 3, Cayleigh Walker 7 9-11 24, Mia Helsel 4 4-9 13, Myleigh Hudson 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 18 24-36 64.
Penns Valley – 58
Kayla Hopkins 2 3-4 7, Sydnie Dalton 0 0-0 0, Lilly Smith 6 9-12 22, Scotty Dinges 4 1-2 9, Ellie Romig 2 3-4 7, Elle Dinges 5 1-6 11, Paige Johnson 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 18 17-28 58.
Lady Bison Scoreboard:
Date Opponent Score Record
12/01 @ Brookville Tip-Off Tourney vs. North Clarion 49 – 37 1 – 0
12/02 @ Brookville Tip-Off Tourney vs. Brookville 50 – 23 2 – 0
12/06 @ Central 43 – 57 2 – 1
12/08 GREATER JOHNSTOWN 43 – 60 2 – 2
12/13 BELLEFONTE 72 – 50 3 – 2
12/15 @ Bishop Guilfoyle 38 – 46 3 – 3
12/20 TYRONE 61 – 43 4 – 3
12/22 @ Hollidaysburg 29 – 64 4 – 4
01/03 HUNTINGDON 54 – 45 5 – 4
01/05 @ Westmont Hilltop 34 – 54 5 – 5
01/10 @ Philipsburg-Osceola 71 – 42 6 – 5
01/12 BELLWOOD-ANTIS 51 – 46 7 – 5
01/15 @ Penns Valley 64 – 58 8 – 5
01/18 BEDFORD
01/22 BALD EAGLE AREA
01/24 DUBOIS CENTRAL CATHOLIC
01/29 CENTRAL
02/02 @ Richland
02/05 @ Bellefonte
02/08 BISHOP GUILFOYLE
02/12 @ Tyrone
02/14 @ Curwensville
