NORTH CLARION 49, CLARION 43

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Feb. 17, 2009 - District 9 Class A Girls' First Round

By Chris Rossetti

FRILLS CORNERS – North Clarion used a game-ending 8-2 run to pick up its first playoff win in 10 years with a 49-43 victory over visiting Clarion in the opening round of the District 9 Class A girls’ playoffs Tuesday night.

“This win is great,” North Clarion head coach Paula Judy, who was an assistant coach the last time the She-Wolves won a playoff game in 1999, said. “I had all my juniors and seniors dress. I told them chances were they won’t play but they need to be a part of this experience.”

North Clarion (16-7) looked in complete control of the game following a Jessica Tarr 3-pointer that put the She-Wolves ahead 41-33 with 6:20 to play. But Clarion (10-13) rallied with an 8-0 run to tie the game at 41 when freshman Bri Nellis hit one of two free throws with 4:32 to play. Nellis had three points and an assist during the run that also included a big 3-pointer by Tiff Smathers.

“That was huge,” Clarion head coach Roger Walter said about the run. “We gave Nellis the ball and told her to put us on her shoulders. She made some good, strong moves to the basket. It was now or never when we were down eight. We threw the pressure right back onto them. I was impressed with the run.”

North Clarion shouldered that pressure, though, immediately retaking the lead on a layup by Jamie Zacherl off a nice pass from Karlee Cyphert. The She-Wolves then forced a jump ball with the possession arrow favoring them, and Kelsi Zacherl’s 17-foot jumper off a pass from Jamie Zacherl put North Clarion up 45-41 with 3:01 to play. Jamie Zacherl then made it a six-point lead when she scored off another Clarion turnovers making it 47-41 with 2:34 left.

“This team hasn’t been selfish all season,” Judy said. “We told them at halftime that they could get the shots if they made the extra pass.”

Skyler Ganoe kept Clarion in the game when she hit two free throws with 1:58 left to cut the North Clarion lead to 47-41. But Tarr hit two free throws at the 1:09 mark to restore the six-point lead, and Clarion missed a couple of 3-pointers in the final minute that would have given it life.

“There were stretches where we had two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior on the floor at the same time,” Walter said. “If we aren’t the youngest team in District 9, we are right there. We played well.”

Clarion led 22-19 at halftime and 24-21 just over a minute into the second half, but North Clarion ended the third quarter on a 13-5 run to take a 34-29 lead going to the fourth quarter.

“We had better execution in the second half,” Judy said. “In the first half we had a lot of nerves and jitters and were in a daze, not playing defense. We picked up the defensive pressure in the second half and got rid of the jitters.”

North Clarion’s defense did pick up in the second half, as the She-Wolves held Clarion to 6 of 26 shooting (23.1 percent) in the half while forcing nine turnovers. In the first half, the Lady Cats shot 45.5 percent (10 of 22) and turned the ball over eight times.

“We went away from everything that got us there,” Walter said. “We were a step slow and made mental mistakes. We’re young, and I expect some mental mistakes, but the third quarter did us in.”

North Clarion also got after the boards strong in the second half gathering in four key offensive rebounds in the third quarter that helped the She-Wolves score six second-chance points in the quarter.

“We told them two things at halftime,” Judy said. “No. 1 was we had to play better half-court defense. And No. 2 was he had to rebound better. We like to run, and we can’t run without rebounding. They focused in the second half and committed to that.”

North Clarion’s win sets up a rubber match with second-seeded West Forest. The She-Wolves lost to the Lady Indians 59-32 Jan. 9 at North Clarion but handed West Forest (22-2) its first loss of the season and its lone loss to a Class A team this year 41-38.

“We are going to have to play better than tonight if we are going to win that game,” Judy said. “West Forest is a tough team. They are fast and aggressive.”

Jamie Zacherl led North Clarion with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Cyphert added 15 points and seven boards. Tarr chipped in with 10 tallies.

Nellis led Clarion with 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Smathers added 11 points.

The win gives Judy some family bragging rights, as Walter is her brother-in-law.

“Roger and I probably don’t talk as much basketball as people think,” Judy said. “We know the caliber of each other’s teams and what each other is going to do. But we don’t talk about it. It keeps things peaceful.”

NOTES – North Clarion’s last playoff win came in 1999 when it beat Cameron County 44-34 in the opening round. It was the She-Wolves first playoff appearance since 2000 when they lost 50-44 at home to Oswayo Valley … North Clarion won just 13 combined games over the last five seasons prior to this year and was just 5-19 last year … North Clarion shot 43.2 percent (19 of 44) for the game including 10 of 18 (58 percent) in the second half. That included a 5 of 6 performance in the fourth quarter. Clarion shot 33.3 percent (16 of 48) in the game … North Clarion scored nine points off turnovers and 12 second-chance points. Clarion had six points off turnovers and no second-chance points.

NORTH CLARION 46, CLARION 41

Score by Quarters

Clarion 9 13 7 14 – 43

North Clarion 6 13 14 15 – 49

Clarion – 43

Bri Nellis 5 3-4 13, Skyler Ganoe 2 2-2 6, Kelsey Beichner 1 0-0 2, Tiff Smathers 4 0-0 11, Karla Peterson 0 0-0 0, Liz Shannonhouse 1 2-2 4, Kaitlin Roth 3 0-1 7, Kara Durkin 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 7-9 43.

North Clarion – 49

Jess Tarr 3 2-2 10, Karlee Cyphert 6 3-3 15, Kelsi Zacherl 3 0-0 6, Jamie Zacherl 6 3-6 16, Lacey Niederriter 1 0-0 2, Emily Gatesman 0 0-1 0, Jordan Tarr 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 8-12 49.

Three-pointers – Clarion 4 (Smathers 3, Roth). North Clarion 3 (Jess Tarr 2, Jamie Zacherl).