By HUNTER O. LYLE
BRADFORD, PA – After suffering a poor second quarter, the Bradford girls’ basketball team was unable to recover, falling to DuBois 51-25 on Senior Night.
Ahead of the varsity action, the Lady honored their three senior veterans Alyssa Johnson, Mallory Craig and Mackenzie Taylor.
“They bring the energy, they bring the leadership, they bring the girls together,” said Bradford first-year head coach Jason Blatchley. “I’m going to miss all three of them. They’re just great teammates.
Coming out of the gates, DuBois looked to exploit the Lady Owls’ missing piece. Playing their third game without star forward Hayley Keane, Bradford was missing significant size in the middle, which is exactly where the Lady Beavers attacked. Dishing down to the post or otherwise attacking the rim, DuBois forced the issue down low, however, Bradford held them off more times than not.
“We obviously lost a lot of height along with Hayley’s presence down low, inside-outside and her ball handling,” said Blatchley. “But the girls didn’t give up. We were diving for loose balls and that’s the effort that we love. That’s what’s going to get us towards the playoffs once Hayley gets healthy.”
Mid-way through the period, the Lady Owls grabbed a hold of the momentum, with Johnson cashing in on a deep 3-pointer to take a 7-6 advantage. Although DuBois was able to tie the game with a jumper not long after, Bradford finished the quarter on a 4-0 run, heading into the second period ahead 12-8.
The bit of momentum they had mustered quickly faded in the second quarter. After Maranda Davis sank a short jumper in the opening minute, Bradford’s offense would run dry from there on. Facing a full-court-press, the Lady Owls would fall into turmoil as turnovers became a regularity. Along with the pressure, sloppy or forced passes aggravated the issue while missed layups and shots at the free throw deflated the home team.
After a quarter that included nine Lady Owl turnovers, Bradford faced a nine-point deficit going into halftime.
“DuBois is very physical. They’re a good, physical team who work the ball and shoot well,” said Blatchley. “Their pressure affected us. They put a lot of pressure on us, but we caused a lot of turnovers too but we just couldn’t convert them.”
Mallory Craig takes a short jump shot for the Lady Owls during their 51-25 loss to DuBois. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
Bradford’s woes would only worsen in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Kicking off the second half, DuBois scored seven unanswered points and, while the Lady Owls responded by five unanswered points of their own, once again they would go cold.
While the Lady Beavers continued to attack the rim, scoring on drives and second chance opportunities, Bradford attempted to catch up via jump shots. Shooting both inside the arc and out, they launched a barrage of would-be scores but to no avail. Nothing would fall for the desperate Lady Owls. Throughout the period, Bradford would score just five points, heading into the final quarter down 40-21.
Once again, the Lady Beavers started the next quarter hot, this time opening with a 9-2 scoring run that swelled the lead to 26. Despite their best efforts, even switching to a 3-2 zone and implementing a full-court-press, Bradford just couldn’t find an answer for DuBois.
As the time continued to fade from the clock, the outcome was certain and with around two minutes left, Bradford subbed off their seniors to a thunderous applause.
Johnson and Alexis Kicior led Bradford in scoring with seven points each, followed by Long with five, Craig with four and Davis with two points.
With three games left on the schedule, Bradford is looking to muster as much momentum as they can before the ensuing postseason.
“The goal is to go 3-0. We have three games left, one home two away,” said Blatchley. “We want to go 3-0 and see St. Marys in the playoffs. We split with them during the regular season and you never know what could happen.”
AT BRADFORD
DuBois (51)
Fontaine 5 2-2 15, A. Kennis 4 4-6 13, Powers 4 1-3 9, Gray 2 2-2 7, C. Kennis 2 2-2 6, Daniluk 0 1-2 1. Totals: 17 12-17 51
Bradford (25)
Johnson 3 0-2 7, Kicior 3 1-3 7, Long 1 3-6 5, Craig 2 0-0 4, Davis 1 0-0 2. Totals: 10 4-11 25
DuBois 8 25 40 51
Bradford 12 16 21 25
Three-point goals: DU (5) Fontaine 3, Kennis, Gray, BD (1) Johnson; Total fouls: DU 16, BD 14; fouled out: xxx.
JV: DuBois 26, Bradford 7
