PUNXSUTAWNEY – Tempo and turnovers were the main topics of discussion for the Clearfield Lady Bisons before their District 9 Class AAA semifinal on the Punxsutawney Area High School hardwood Tuesday night.
Coach Joey Castagnolo stressed controlling the tempo and winning the battle of the turnovers as two keys to extending their season.
“We didn’t do either,” he said dejectedly after the Lady Bisons were dealt a disappointing 49-36 setback by the host Lady Chucks, who move on to test No. 1 seed St. Marys (20-2) for the district title in a 1 p.m. tip-off in Clarion University’s Tippin Gym Saturday.
“We just didn’t take care of the basketball,” Castagnolo continued. “I don’t know if it was just the environment, but we’re all seniors. It shouldn’t happen.”
What did happen in the rubber game between the District 9 League rivals was the quicker Lady Chucks giving the Lady Bisons fits with their man-to-man defense, creating more than a dozen steals among Clearfield’s 21 turnovers.
A dozen giveaways and several missed layups prevented the Lady Bisons from getting into any kind of a rhythm in the first half.
Failure to convert the easy shots “just destroyed our confidence,” according to Castagnolo.
Still, the game was close until the Lady Bisons went into a scoring drought of more than nine minutes, including the final 5:25 of the second quarter.
The early pace was to Clearfield’s liking, with the Lady Chucks also unable to cash several short-range shots.
Punxsy’s Hannah Neal opened the scoring with a three-pointer from the left wing, but Madison Sopic’s drive, Amber Byerly’s two free throws, Elizabeth Peters’ soft one-hander and Byerly’s bunny off a Gwenn Porter pass put the Lady Bisons in front 8-5 with less than three minutes gone.
The only points in the next three minutes were a fast-break layup and a free throw by Punxsy’s Megan McCully.
Byerly, on an Angela Moore assist, scored what proved to be her last bucket of the game to snap the 8-8 tie, but Neal hit another trey and McCully ended a rapid sequence of three Punxsy shots, two Clearfield rebounds and two Lady Bison turnovers with a deuce that made it 13-10 Punxsy at the first rest stop.
Sopic’s pull-up jumper and Porter’s tough finish on a fast break set in motion by Byerly’s steal gave Clearfield a 14-13 edge.
The teams then traded pairs of field goals, Elizabeth and sister Breanna Peters scoring for the Lady Bisons, creating an 18-18 tie.
Seconds later, Amber Fye nailed her second trey in less than a minute to ignite a 17-0 Punxsutawney run that stretched into the third quarter and pretty much settled the outcome.
The first-quarter threes by Neal were a factor in Fye getting open looks.
“We started worrying about (Neal), and Fye got hot right there at the top of the key,” Castagnolo said. “That broke our backs.”
Despite an 18-10 advantage under the boards, the Lady Bisons were down 25-18 at halftime.
“We didn’t take advantage of the opportunities,” noted Castagnolo. “And that’s what happens with turnovers.”
The Lady Chucks opened the second half with 10 points in a row, including five by Shawnna Crago in the low post and Fye’s third trey, before Elizabeth Peters netted a free throw for Clearfield’s first point in 9:35.
The big deficit forced Castagnolo’s hand.
“They took us right out of our game, where we had to go man-to man,” he said. “We don’t play man that much. I think we did a decent job, but they know how to attack a man defense.
“With that big of a lead, they’re deadly. They handle the ball well.
“We got in foul trouble, then we started getting frustrated.
“It’s tough coming back against a good team like that.”
The Lady Bisons made a bonafide attempt, though.
A pair of three-pointers by Jayme Ryan and two free throws by Sopic sliced the margin to 39-27 after three, and Sopic’s jumper in traffic made it a 10-point spread just seven seconds into the final period.
However, the Lady Chucks began running big chunks of time off of the clock on every position with point guard Jenna Reitz, Fye and Neal demonstrating their ballhandling skills.
Porter and Byerly fouled out as Punxsy (12-11) pulled away again at 46-29 with 4:31 to play.
Neal, held in check by the Lady Bisons in the regular season duels, showed why she led the Lady Chucks in scoring by pumping in a game-high 14 points. Fye was right behind with 13 and Crago added 11.
McCully and Crago snared eight and six rebounds, respectively.
The Lady Chucks had only 12 turnovers.
“They played an excellent game,” Castagnolo said.
Sopic was the lone Lady Bison in double figures with 10 points, while Byerly had a game-high 10 boards.
Clearfield (15-8) shot 32.5 percent and outrebounded Punxsy 27-22 but couldn’t overcome the nine-turnover deficit.
“The effort was there,” Castagnolo said. “We played hard.
“It’s a disappointing loss. I know the kids had their hearts set on going to Clarion and having a better record.
“But 15 wins against quality competition, I’ll take it.
“It’s just a sad way for the seven seniors to end their careers. They gave their all.”
Starters Ryan, Porter, Sopic, Elizabeth Peters and Byerly and reserves Angela Moore and Lori Zalno played their final game for Clearfield.
See photos of the game at: http://www.ladybisonsports.org/lbsbball030210.html
CLEARFIELD — 36
Jayme Ryan 3 0-0 8, Gwenn Porter 1 0-0 2, Madison Sopic 4 2-2 10, Elizabeth Peters 3 2-3 8, Amber Byerly 2 2-2 6, Angela Moore 0 0-0 0, Lori Zalno 0 0-0 0, Breanna Peters 1 0-0 2, Rachel Thompson 0 0-0 0, Lisa Ambuski 0 0-0 0, Kristen Butler 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 14 6-7 36.
PUNXSUTAWNEY — 49
Jenna Reitz 0 3-6 3, Hannah Neal 6 0-1 14, Amber Fye 4 3-4 13, Megan McCully 2 1-2 7, Shawnna Crago 4 3-5 11, Lindsey Paulina 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 17 10-18 49.
Three-Point Field Goals – Clearfield 2 (Ryan 2); Punxsutawney 5 (Neal 2, Fye 3).
Score by Quarters
Clearfield 10 8 9 9 – 36
Punxsutawney 13 12 14 10 – 49
Officials – Kris Stiglitz, George Schneider, Jamie Evans.
