Despite an ever-frustrating losing streak that’s now reached six games and counting, the Tyrone girls basketball team has really displayed one major weakness over the last six games.
And as you might imagine when a skid gets that big, the one weakness is a doozy.
And it was as vivid as ever Saturday against Delone Catholic in the consolation game of the Great Chevy Shootout at Bishop Guilfoyle High School’s Pleasant Valley gymnasium.
Against the Squirettes’ full-court man-to-man pressure, Tyrone turned the ball over 11 times in the first quarter alone, serving as the catalyst for a 19-0 Delone run. The Squirettes never let up and cruised to a 65-33 victory to claim third place, after winning the tourney title a year ago.
“It’s frustrating,” said Tyrone coach Luke Rhoades. “We did some good things. I thought our half-court offense looked decent, and there are some girls who are starting to step it up. It’s not the level we need to be at yet, though.”
Kayla Corle, who led the Lady Eagles with 11 points, was named to the All-Tournament team after scoring 36 points and nailing seven three-point goals in two games. But opportunities for the hot-shooting senior were few and far between against Delone, whose pressure made getting the ball across mid-court difficult for the short-handed Lady Eagles, who again played without sophomore point guard Rachel Emigh, out with an ankle injury.
Senior Kassie Faretta, who missed two games with her own sprained ankle , dressed and played sparingly.
“Kayla definitely shot the ball well throughout the tournament,” said Rhoades.
The Lady Eagles actually led the Squirettes 6-0 two minutes into the game after Corle hit back-to-back treys. But once Delone got its first basket on a put-back by senior Jennifer Scherer, the Squirettes were able to set their full-court pressure and methodically hammer Tyrone into submission. Scherer scored six of her 14 points during Delone’s first quarter run, while Nicole Lawrence scored five of her 11.
“I think we handed them the ball six straight times,” Rhoades said. “We have to find a way to get the ball up the court.”
The pressure prevented Tyrone from ever establishing its half-court offense, keeping the Lady Eagles off the board for six minutes, until Mara Hawes scored on a follow-up with eight seconds to play in the quarter. By then, the Squirettes led 19-8.
Tyrone turned the ball over nine more times in the second quarter, as Delone opened a 35-17 halftime lead.
The Lady Eagles’ best effort came in the third when they turned the ball over only four times and shot 5-for-12 from the floor, but behind seven points from Meagan Raville, who scored a game-high 15 points, the Squirettes carried the frame 18-14.
In the fourth, when both coaches began to clear their benches, Tyrone turned the ball over six times and went without a field goal until five second remained, when Brooke Romano hit a runner in the lane. The Lady Eagles shot 1-for-8 in the period.
GAME NOTES: Tyrone finished the game 12-for-40 from the floor … Delone shot 25-for-60 … Tyrone finished with 30 turnovers … the Squirettes are now 7-4, while Tyrone is 2-6 … the Lady Eagles will play Lewistown after the New Years break.
DELONE CATHOLIC 65 TYRONE 33
TYRONE – Christine 3 1-1 7; Corle 2 5-6 11; Garbinsky 1 0-0 3; Harden 2 0-0 4; Hawes 2 0-2 4; Ray 1 0-0 2; Ford 0 0-1 0; Romano 1 0-0 2; Zimmerman 0 0-0 0; Adams 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 12 6-10 33.
DELONE CATHOLIC – Mo. Beckner 0 2-2 2; Lawrence 4 3-4 11; Placke 2 2-2 6; Clime 0 3-4 3; Scherer 7 0-0 14; Robertson 1 0-0 2; Riggs 3 0-0 7; Raville 6 2-2 15; Schubert 2 1-1 5; Me. Beckner 0 0-0 0; Ezbe 0 0-0 0; Hoffman 0 0-0 0; Eltz 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 23 13-15 65.
Score by Quarters
TYRONE 8 9 14 2 – 33
DELONE CATHOLIC 19 16 18 12 – 65
THREE-POINT GOALS: Tyrone-3 (Corle 2, Garbinsky),
Delone Catholic-2 (Riggs, Raville)
