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Clearfield Alliance girls top Blair County Christian
Friday, January 04, 2013
By Andy Stine Sports Writer
The Clearfield Alliance Christian School girls basketball team may not have played in almost two weeks before Thursday evening's game with Blair County Christian, but the Lady Crusaders certainly didn't show it.
Clearfield Alliance outscored the Lady Bobcats 21-3 in the first half, with all but one point going to Alyssa Wharton to help the Lady Crusaders beat Blair County Christian, 37-13.
Wharton finished the game with 25 points, seven rebounds and four blocks to pace Clearfield Alliance.
"Obviously at this point, she means a great deal in a sense of leadership," said Clearfield Alliance head coach John Wharton. "She's bringing the other girls along.
"She's taken different roles throughout the years and this year the emphasis put on her was to be that leadership role. As a coach, I'm very proud to see that she's stepping up and taking it."
Leading 6-2 after the first stanza, the Lady Crusaders went on a 15-1 run in the second quarter. Many fastbreaks led to Wharton layups in the period. Wharton scored 14 of the 15 points in the quarter, while Bethany Folmar's free throw was the only other point scored.
Blair County Christian felt the presence of the Lady Crusaders' defense at the start of the second half. Wharton had three of her four blocks in the first two minutes of the third quarter.
Later in the half, Clearfield Alliance found more players stepping up in their lineup.
Rachel Passmore scored all five of her points in the half, while Bethany Folmar also chipped in with five points in the game.
"In the second half, we had a pretty sizeable lead," said Coach Wharton. "What I really wanted to see is other leaders step up. And we need other leaders to step up and improve their game.
"I thought Bethany and Rachel both stepped it up. They're making more shots and they're looking to improve their game. They're really looking to take the ball to the hoop in an aggressive fashion instead of being passive."
"We're still winning some games and we'll take them as it comes."
The Lady Crusaders improved to 4-3 and host Hebron today. Boys
Blair County Christian 53, Clearfield Alliance 27
After being down eight points going into halftime, the Clearfield Alliance Christian School boys had no answer for Bobcat guard Gary Nixon.
Nixon scored 13 of his 24 points in the second half, while Dillian Aurandt scored 23 points to help Blair County Christian defeat the Crusaders.
"The wheels just came off in the second half," said Wharton. "Getting into our offense was much more difficult. We were out of sync all night."
With starting point guard Devon Shimmel out with an injury, the Crusaders had a hard time finding a rhythm in their offense.
Although the offense struggled, shooting guard Jason Eveleth still found his way to an impressive night, scoring 18 points and pulling down 19 boards.
"He was amazing tonight, but he was constantly looking to feed the ball to other players," said Wharton. "He wants to include his teammates. I really thought he did a good job looking for his teammates, but also looking to score and taking advantage of what the defense gives. I'm real proud of his effort."
Blair County Christian outscored Clearfield Alliance 15-7 in the third quarter to take a 35-19 lead into the fourth. Nixon scored seven points in the quarter, including one of his two 3-pointers on the evening.
"We were trying to guard him too close," said Wharton. "We didn't have the foot speed to stay up with him. He consistently got around us and exposed the inside of our defense."
Clearfield Alliance (1-6) travels to Blair County Christian on Monday. Girls
Blair County Christian-13
Huston 1 0-0 2, Smith 0 0-0 0, Miller 1 0-1 2, McCoy 0 2-2 2, Hoover 1 1-4 3, As. Gross 0 0-0 0, Harvey 1 0-0 2, Ap. Gross 1 0-0 2. Totals: 5 3-7 13.
Clearfield Alliance-37
Wharton 11 0-0 25, B. Folmar 2 1-2 5, R. Passmore 2 1-2 5, S. Folmar 0 0-0 0, G. Passmore 0 0-0 0, A. Passmore 0 0-0 0, Kumm 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 2-4 37.
Three-pointers: Wharton 3.
Score by Quarters
Blair Co. Christian 2 1 4 6-13
Clearfield Alliance 6 15 11 5-37 Boys
Blair County Christian-53
Aurandt 11 1-2 23, Ritchey 3 0-0 6, Huston 0 0-0 0, Nixon 11 0-0 24, Sollenberger 0 0-0 0, Daku 0 0-2 0, Gross 0 0-0 0, Hite 0 0-0 0, Snyder 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 1-4 53.
Clearfield Alliance-27
Wharton 0 1-2 1, Eveleth 9 0-0 18, Jury 1 1-4 3, Kumm 0 2-2 2, Fleming 1 1-2 3, Tihansky 0 0-0 0, Fitt 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 5-10 27.
Three-pointers: Nixon 2.
Score by Quarters
Blair Co. Christian 10 10 15 18-53
Clearfield Alliance 7 5Á 7 8-27
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