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Shots don’t fall, Lady Chucks stumble in home-opener |
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Written by Dan Walk
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Saturday, 08 December 2007 |
 Punxsy forward Amanda Toven (30) battles two Clearfield players for a rebound Friday night in Punxsutawney. Toven had five rebounds and the Lady Bisons won, 45-42. (Photo by Dan Walk)
PUNXSUTAWNEY " The Punxsy girls’ basketball team struggled to get the ball into the hoop Friday night, and those scoring woes led to a 45-42 home loss to D9 League rival Clearfield.
“We just had a horrible night shooting the ball. It wasn’t one (player); it was everyone,” Reitz said. “We had a lot of attempts, but they just didn’t fall tonight. Just have to work at that in practice.”
Friday marked Punxsy’s first D9 League home loss under seven-year head coach Randy Reitz.
“Any time you’re at home, you have to win those league games,” Reitz said. “We gave one away, and it’s tough to win on the road. That’s just a challenge that we’re going to have to face, and we’re going to have to meet.”
Punxsy will have a chance at evening the season series with Clearfield Wednesday, Jan. 23.
The Lady Chucks had three girls in double-figures, led by Emily Thompson scoring 14 points, including two three-pointers. Jube Parise had 11 points, including three three-pointers, and Allie Miller scored 10.
Only two others scored for Punxsy, as Lauren Janocha had four, and three came from Jenna Reitz.
“We would like to be a little more balanced, and hopefully, we can do that as the season progresses,” coach Reitz said of his scorers.
Amanda Toven ripped down a team-high five rebounds, both Thompson and Miller had four rebounds, and Janocha had three steals. The Lady Chucks turned the ball over 16 times.
Jayme Ryan scored a team-high 14 points for Clearfield, while Alanna Luzier had 13. Ryan and Luzier combined for five three-pointers, a shot in which Reitz said the Lady Bisons specialize.
“I thought our defense played pretty well " a couple breakdowns, but overall, I was pretty pleased with the defense,” Reitz said. “I thought we checked out pretty well. We got out and challenged them, but Clearfield made some threes in the first half that kind of hurt us.”
Clearfield started the game hot by taking a 7-0 advantage, but the Lady Chucks continued to creep closer before trailing 14-12 entering the second quarter.
Punxsy began the second quarter on an 8-0 run thanks to a basket from Miller and two three-pointers by Thompson. Clearfield was able the weather the storm and led 23-22 at the break. Punxsy never saw the lead again.
The first 7 1/2-minutes of the third quarter couldn’t have gone any worse for Punxsy from the field. The Lady Bisons built a 36-24 advantage before three points from both Reitz and Parise helped Punxsy avoid a blowout.
Nonetheless, once Punxsy led 20-14 with 4:09 remaining in the first half, Clearfield’s 22-2 run really set Punxsy back.
Trailing 36-30 after three quarters, Punxsy started to hit shots in the fourth quarter, as Parise nailed a three with 35 seconds left, cutting the deficit to 43-40.
After each team made two free throws, a lack of precision shooting crept back, as the Lady Chucks missed two opportunities to tie the game.
The Lady Chucks return to the road next week, as they face Johnstown Monday night. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 10 December 2007 )
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