HEILWOOD — The Clearfield and Curwensville girls basketball teams went into the Penns Manor Holiday Classic looking forward to a rematch of last week\’s nailbiter won 54-51 by the host Lady Tide.
The backyard rivals will get it, but they\’ll have to settle for the consolation game Saturday afternoon at 4:30 after suffering contrasting losses in the opening round Friday night.
Markie Britton made two foul shots with 8.5 seconds remaining to lift Purchase Line (5-3) past Clearfield 52-51, while Penns Manor (5-3) turned a big first half lead into a 64-31 win over Curwensville. The defeat was only the second in seven games for the Lady Tide.
Clearfield\’s third loss in a row following a 3-0 start was disappointing for coach Joey Castagnolo because the Lady Bisons were unable to turn a good start, and a big second quarter lead, into victory.
\”We just didn\’t put them away,\” he said. \”It seemed like we controlled the tempo the whole game, but we let them hang around and hang around.\”
A 1-2-2 press produced turnovers and the shots were falling for the Lady Bisons in the first 12 minutes. They turned a 13-11 lead after one quarter into a 33-18 bulge but then went scoreless while the Lady Dragons closed the gap to three points by halftime.
\”We started out good, and that\’s been our weakness the last thee games,\” Castagnolo said. \”When we were up 15, I was thinking about taking the press off, but they started solving it and just got right back in it. They went on a roll and just kept chipping away.\”
Heather Hudson, who finished with a game-high 18 points, paced Purchase Line\’s rally with 11 points in the second period, while Julianna Howell had 10 of her team-high 12 points in the first half for Clearfield. The Lady Bison senior saw limited action after missing three games because of an operation to remove her tonsils.
Castagnolo credited Lady Dragon coach Julie Horner\’s decision to switch defenses and a game-ending injury to guard Brooke Jordan as the keys to Lady Bisons\’ 18-point output in the second half. Jordan was injured when she landed hard on the floor.
\”They came out in a man, and we just didn\’t respond,\” he said. \”Then, getting Jordan hurt because she goes to the hoop with the ball.\”
Complicating matters for the Lady Bisons in the back-and-forth second half was the loss of top rebounder Elizabeth Sopic, who fouled out midway through the fourth quarter.
Clearfield wasn\’t at full strength to start the game with Howell and senior forward Mallory Janocko (ear infection) not 100 percent. Freshman Jayme Ryan was an emergency starter and contributed six points.
Nikki Collins had 10 points for Clearfield, while Britton scored 11 and Erica Fetterman 10 for the 5-3 Lady Dragons.
The championship game between Heritage Conference rivals Purchase Line and Penns Manor will start at 6 o\’clock.
CLEARFIELD — 51
Brooke Jordan 2 0-0 5, Nikki Collins 2 5-8 10, Elizabeth Sopic 4 0-0 8, Jayme Ryan 3 0-0 6, Annie Janocko 0 0-0 0, Mallory Janocko 2 1-2 5, Alanna Luzier 2 0-0 5, Julianna Howell 4 2-2 12, Elizabeth Peters 0 0-0 0, Gwenn Porter 0 0-0 0, Madison Sopic 0 0-0 0, Julie Colesar 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 8-12 51.
PURCHASE LINE — 52
Rachel Struble 2 0-0 5, Markie Britton 3 5-6 11, Erica Fetterman 4 2-2 10, Heather Hudson 6 5-6 18, Caroline Lieb 0 0-0 0, Laci Thompson 3 0-0 8. Totals: 18 12-14 52.
Three-Point Field Goals: Clearfield 5 (Howell 2, Jordan 1, Collins 1, Luzier 1). Purchase Line 4 (Thompson 2, Struble 1, Hudson 1).
Score by Quarters:
Clearfield 13 20 11 7 — 51
Purchase Line 11 21 11 9 — 52
