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Clearfield girls upend Bradford, 40-24
Saturday, January 30, 2010
By Jon Christoff Sports Writer
HYDE - After the Bradford girls basketball team cut Clearfield's lead to five in the middle of the third quarter, the Lady Bisons' Madison Sopic took it upon herself to make sure the Lady Owls didn't come any closer.
Bradford's stall tactics totaled more than four minutes off the third-quarter clock, but Sopic took it upon herself to make sure Clearfield's longtime District 9 rival didn't come any closer.
Sopic scored nine straight points over a span of two-and-a-half minutes, and the Lady Bisons rode the momentum to pull away for a 40-24 win.
The Clearfield senior finished the night with 14 points, while teammate Gwenn Porter hit a pair of big 3-pointers in the first half en route to a 16-point effort.
"She was splitting the lane and hitting that jump shot to perfection," said Lady Bisons head coach Joey Castagnolo of Sopic. "We've been talking about it all along - let's knock down that easy shot. It's not an easy shot, but it's a shot that we have to make in a game and she just came through. She was on her own little personal mission.
"This was a District 9 ball game and we hold a team to 24 points ... I'll take it."
Down 19-12, Bradford had possession to start the second half, but sat on the ball just across the half-court line.
Lady Owl point guard Erica Siffrinn held the ball, uncontested by the Clearfield defense.
Porter came out to greet Siffrinn at the 6:05 mark and came away with a steal, which turned into an easy layup for Amber Byerly, who finished the night with a game-high 14 rebounds.
Lady Owls coach Ann Nuzzo opted for the same strategy when her team crossed mid-court, where it made two passes in a span of 2 minutes, 45 seconds.
"It is the most bizarre game of my coaching career," Castagnolo said, "which spans 30 years and 11 as a head coach. I've never - never - experienced something like that. I couldn't understand her strategy, but if that's the way she wants to coach them that's fine.
"The big thing about her freezing it was she shortened the game, and I have two girls underneath with three fouls each. I wasn't in any hurry to come out and get her. It helped us and it got everybody fired up. The fans and everyone are going to be talking about this for a long time."
A layup from Michele Keane answered Byerly's, and her second, which made it a five-point game, caused some controversy.
The referees called a jump ball on a rebound with the possession arrow pointing to Clearfield. The ball was mistakenly given to Bradford, which turned it into an easy layup with the Lady Bisons on the other end of the floor, thinking it was their ball.
Just over a minute later, Sopic took over.
Sopic nailed a jumper in the paint with 58 seconds left in the quarter and added a putback with seven seconds showing on the clock to give the Lady Bisons a 25-16 edge after three.
The Clearfield guard began the fourth with a three-point play and knocked down another jumper for a 14-point advantage.
The Lady Bisons finished the second half 7-for-12 from the field, and made seven foul shots in the fourth quarter.
"The whole (stalling) thing got the fans fired up, and it got the girls fired up and refocused," said Castagnolo. "We've been lacking that a little bit - of being focused the whole game - and I just loved how the kids responded as a team.
"This was a big win. We've been playing okay, but tonight in the second half we played well through everything. I'm just so happy for the kids."
While the Lady Bisons couldn't have asked for a better finish, Castagnolo's squad couldn't have had a more sluggish start.
Bradford gained possession after a missed shot from the Clearfield, and wasn't in any rush to run its offense.
Neither team cracked the scoreboard until a pair of foul shots from the Lady Owls' Emily Marshall at the 4:35 mark, while the Lady Bisons got on the board with 3:37 to go with a runner from Porter.
After each team went just 2-of-13 from the field in the opening eight minutes, the Lady Bisons took the lead for good on consecutive 3-pointers from Porter.
"It kind of broke their back," Castagnolo said of Porter's shooting from the perimeter. "Gwenn had another nice floor game, and she never comes out. Her stamina is really good.
"We were a little sluggish at the beginning, and they wanted to slow it down right at the beginning. We had to go man, and I'm not a man (defense) coach and the girls like playing the zones and traps and stuff. I had to do something because I didn't want to sit there and watch them hold the ball and slow it down. Everyone knows we like the fast pace, so I can see her point of trying to slow it down at the beginning."
Clearfield (9-5) is back on the court Monday for another District 9 League game at home with St. Marys.
The Lady Bisons won the jayvee game, 32-21, behind seven points from Rachel Thompson. Bradford-24
Vinelli 2 0-0 4, Marshall 1 6-7 8, Wiseman 0 1-2 1, Keane 5 0-0 10, Siffrinn 0 1-2 1, Race 0 0-0 0, Owens 0 0-0 0. Totals: 8 8-11 24.
Clearfield-40
Porter 6 2-4 16, E. Peters 1 0-0 2, Byerly 2 2-4 6, Moore 0 0-2 0, Zalno 0 0-0 0, Ja. Ryan 0 0-0 0, Sopic 5 4-5 14, B. Peters 0 2-4 2, Butler 0 0-0 0, Ambuski 0 0-0 0, Thompson 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 10-19 40.
Three-pointers: Porter 2.
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