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Jump shot Tyrone sophomore Rachel Emigh puts up a shot during Tuesday’s Indian Valley win over the Lady Eagles at Tyrone. Emigh led the Lady Eagles with eight points. (The Daily Herald/Mary Michaels) |
There are some alarming similarities between the Tyrone Lady Eagles’ 38-22 loss last night to Indian Valley, and the defeat they suffered the night before to Williamsburg.
While it was the second straight game where Tyrone limited an opponent to under 20 points in the first half, it was also the second straight night the Lady Eagles posted two frames of single-digit scoring and got blown out in the second half for an inability to make shots.
Against the Lady Warriors 2-3 zone, open shots were there most of the night for the Lady Eagles. And, like the Lady Pirates the night before, Indian Valley was ripe for the picking, struggling through one of its poorest offensive performances of the season.
The problem was, Tyrone never made the Lady Warriors pay, and while their defense and rebounding were as stout as they have been this season, eventually, the dam broke.
“Our focus …,” lamented Tyrone coach Luke Rhoades afterwards. “It’s not that we don’t work on shooting in practice. Shooting is all about focus and we just don’t seem to have it.”
They certainly didn’t have it in the first quarter, but then again, neither did Indian Valley. The teams combined to go 2-for-21 from the floor in a 2-2 quarter. Lindsey Christine tied the game for Tyrone at the 2:06 mark with a jumper from the corner. Valley, meanwhile, after an early score, went 7:34 without scoring.
In the second, the Lady Warriors used an 8-0 run to go ahead 12-4 when Steph Zewe scored inside at the 3:44 mark. But Tyrone answered, and thanks to a three-pointer by Kassie Faretta with 1:28 left until halftime, the Lady Eagles trailed just 14-9, despite making just 2-of-11 shots in the period.
“I definitely thought our defense played hard the entire game,” Rhoades said. “It just gets to a point where you’re eventually going to give up some points. It takes a lot out of you to play defense like that.”
Valley eventually got its points late in the third quarter, and the Lady Eagles had no answer. The teams went scoreless for the first four minutes of the half, until Ashley Severa sparked a 10-0 run that had the Lady Warriors ahead 19-9 at the 2:09 mark. Kayla Corle interrupted the streak with a three-pointer at 1:45, but Valley – which made its last six shots of the quarter – closed the frame on a 4-0 run to take a 28-12 lead.
It was more of the same in the fourth. Valley didn’t make its first field goal until 3:59 remained in the game, but Tyrone opened the period shooting 1-for-8 and turning the ball over five times. Eventually, the Lady Warriors shook loose for an 8-0 run to go up 38-15 with just over two minutes to play.
Now 8-14, Tyrone has games remaining on the road against Philipsburg-Osceola Friday and Lewistown at home Saturday before starting the playoffs next Tuesday. That’s a far cry from 10-12, a record Rhoades felt was highly achievable before last night.
“The last two games are games we should have won,” he said. “We just haven’t had anyone step up and get the job done (offensively). Someone has to take the bull by the horns and get it done.”
To that end, the numbers don’t lie. Faretta had 10 against Williamsburg, but in two games no other player reached double-figure scoring. Last night, Rachel Emigh led the team with 8.
Steph Corbin fronted Indian Valley with 10.
Eagle Notes: Lady Eagle seniors Brooke Garbinsky, Kassie Faretta, Kayla Corle and Lindsay Christine were honored before the varsity contest on Senior Recognition Night.
Indian Valley 38 Tyrone 22
Indian Valley – Litwiller 0 0-0 0; Herto 0 0-1 0; Ruby 4 1-2 9; Corbin 3 3-4 10; Bargo 1 0-0 2; Ziegler 1 0-1 2; Severa 3 1-1 7; Zewe 4 0-0 8. TOTALS: 16 5-8 38.
Tyrone– Corle 1 1-2 4; Christine 1 0-0 2; Faretta 1 0-0 3; Garbinsky 1 0-0 3; Emigh 3 2-2 8; Hawes 0 2-2 2; Harden 0 0-0 0; Ray 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 7 5-6 22.
Score by Quarters
Indian Valley 2 12 14 10 – 38
Tyrone 2 7 3 10 – 22
Three-point goals – Tyrone-3 (Corle, Faretta, Garbinsky)
Indian Valley-1 (Corbin)
