The irony for the often offensively challenged Tyrone Lady Eagle basketball team is this: while the squad rarely shoots a high percentage or scores overwhelming point totals, it absolutely needs to shoot the basketball – a lot.
And the reason is in the problem – because Tyrone shoots a fairly low percentage, the more shots it can produce, the more shots it will make.
While that may sound like strange reasoning or counterproductive logic, consider that it was the philosophy that had the Lady Eagles on a four-game winning streak heading into last night\’s game against Bishop Guilfoyle. If the percentage of shots taken was going to remain the same – the reasoning went – why try to slow down the game and shoot less? Such a strategy would only play into the hands of a team that could shoot, defend and run a patient offense – in other words a team like the Lady Marauders.
That\’s why it was strange to see the Lady Eagles come away with only 28 total shots against BG in a 42-29 MAC Section II loss last night at the Tyrone Area High School gymnasium. And while Tyrone made 11, it wasn\’t near enough against the Lady Marauders, who methodically ran their offense, unyieldingly waiting for the right shot, while hounding the Lady Eagles on defense, ensuring that the looks Tyrone got were anything but the perfect choice.
“It\’s like hockey – shots on goal,” said Tyrone coach Jim Swaney jokingly afterwards. “We\’re better when we get a bunch (of shots).”
In the face of the most aggressive man-to-man defense the Lady Eagles had seen all season, getting more shots was easier said than done. After making 4 of 10 shots in the first quarter and trailing 12-11, Tyrone closed the game by attempting 6 shots in the second, 6 shots in the third and 6 shots in the fourth.
“We\’re right where we need to be defensively,” Swaney said. “Now, let\’s make a few layups and let\’s have a few kids be a little bit more aggressive when the basketball is in their hands, and let\’s see if we can scratch, fight and claw, and get into the mid-40s.”
The Lady Marauders, on the other hand, did approach the mid-40s, and while they shot only four times more than Tyrone, the low figure was very much by design. Certainly, Tyrone forced BG into some bad possessions and difficult shots, but more often than not, Guilfoyle shot the shots it wanted to shoot, and it shot them when it wanted to shoot them. Through the first three quarters, the Lady Marauders had made 14 of 27 shots and led 34-22.
Bishop Guilfoyle improved to 11-5 on the season and 7-2 in the MAC, while the Lady Eagles fell to 8-7 overall and 4-5 in the league. It was Tyrone\’s first loss since falling to Richland in the finals of the Kovacik Holiday Tournament December 30, and it was its second consecutive game scoring under 40 points.
The deciding stretch came just under three minutes into the third quarter. BG led 23-18 at halftime, but a put back by Liz Tepsic to start the second half cut it to 23-20. From there, the Lady Marauders ran off 11 straight points to go ahead 34-20 before Emily McKenna made a jump shot with one second left in the quarter.
Five-foot-11 post Mary Forr started and ended the rally with baskets inside, while in between Dani Williams and Tera Geishauser made buckets around an Ashley Helsel three-pointer. Along the way, Tyrone turned the ball over four times against Guilfoyle\’s full-court man pressure.
“The biggest thing I was disappointed in is that I thought they had eight points off of run-outs,” Swaney said. “In a game like this, where points were going to be at a premium, I was disappointed we gave up eight easy points by not getting back.”
The Lady Eagles trimmed the lead to 10 twice in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Marauders went to their spread-out stall offense to wind the clock and give Tyrone as few offensive opportunities as possible.
“I looked up at one point with two minutes to go and it was 36-26 and I thought, where do you want us to be defensively,” said Swaney. “We\’ve given up 36 points to a team that might be the best Double-A team in the district.”
Senior Emily McKenna – hounded by Guilfoyle\’s Amanda DeAntonio from end to end – was held below double figures for only the second time this season, scoring nine. Junior Stefani Bryan came off the bench to score eight.
Tyrone employed a 2-3 zone for the first time this season for the second and part of the third quarter in an attempt to limit the production of Forr, who was held to four points against Bellefonte\’s 2-3 zone on Saturday, but the junior still managed 11. Helsel led BG with 12.
GAME NOTES: Tyrone hosts Dubois tonight … Liz Tepsic and McKenna each pulled down five rebounds to lead the Lady Eagles … the 29 points represented Tyrone\’s lowest single-game output this season. The game also marked the 10th time the Lady Eagles have held an opponent under 50 … BG committed only six turnovers.
JUNIOR VARSITY
Tyrone connected on seven three-point field goals but came up on the short end of a 42-32 score in the preliminary.
Kayla Corle made two three-pointers and led the Lady Eagles with a game-high 12 points.
VARSITY
Bishop Guilfoyle 42 Tyrone 29
BISHOP GUILFOYLE – Forr 5 1-2 11; DeAntonio 1 0-0 3; Williams 2 0-0 4; Geishauser 3 1-2 8; Helsel 5 0-1 12; Kitt 0 2-2 2; Carroll 0 2-2 2; Horell 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 16 6-9 42
TYRONE – McKenna 3 2-2 9; Hoover 1 0-0 2; Lloyd 0 0-0 0; Ingle 0 0-0 0; Tepsic 3 0-0 6; Bradford 1 2-4 4; Bryan 3 0-0 8. TOTALS: 11 4-6 29
Score by Quarters
BISHOP GUILFOYLE 12 11 11 8 – 42
TYRONE 11 7 4 7 – 29
3-POINT GOALS: Tyrone 3 (Bryan 2, McKenna), Bishop Guilfoyle 4 (Helsel 2, Heishauser, DeAntonio)
JUNIOR VARSITY
Bishop Guilfoyle 42 Tyrone 32
BISHOP GUILFOYLE – Filer 2 1-3 5; Craig 1 0-1 2; Conrad 4 1-2 9; Ciambiotti 3 1-2 7; C. Neugebauer 5 0-0 10; Keagy 4 1-4 9. TOTALS: 19 4-12 42
TYRONE – Christine 1 0-0 3; Turiano 2 0-0 6; Corle 4 2-6 12; Halter 1 0-0 2; Bryan 2 0-0 5; Long 1 1-2 4. TOTALS: 11 3-8 32
Score by Quarters
BISHOP GUILFOYLE 14 9 13 6 – 42
TYRONE 6 11 6 9 – 32
3-POINT GOALS: Tyrone 7 (Corle 2, Turiano 2, Christine, Bryan, Long)
