A player like Lauren Haag salivates at the sight of the defense the Huntingdon Lady Bearcats employed last night against the Lady Eagles.
Conventional wisdom says that long shots over the top of a zone are better than lay ups in the paint so Huntingdon for much of the game sat back in a 2-3 zone, content to keep Tyrone posts Hilary McNelis and Joanna Turner off the boards and away from the basket.
But there are nights when 19-footers are like lay ups for the smooth 5-10 senior, and last night was one of them. Haag burned the Lady ‘Cats for a career-high 22 points, including four three-pointers as the Lady Eagles won their second straight 52-37 at Huntingdon Area High School.
“Haag has been solid for us all year,” said Tyrone coach Jim Swaney. “She’s always been there for us. She shot the ball with a lot of confidence early and looked to get to the hoop. I can’t say enough about her.”
The win allowed the Lady Eagles to climb above .500 at 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the Mountain League with an important conference game at home tonight against rival Lewistown.
Haag scored nine points in the first quarter when the Lady Eagles built a 15-4 lead and had 15 by halftime. She scored six straight at the end of the first quarter – twice running the floor to free herself for layups off of long outlet passes from Marie DelBaggio. She then drained two three-pointers in the second quarter, with one coming right after the ‘Cats had pulled to within five at 20-15.
That allowed Tyrone to head into the locker room up 25-19, but Swaney wasn’t pleased with the way his team handled Huntingdon’s zone in the first half.
“In the first half, we stood around too much. We were content to pass around the perimeter, not attack and then shoot, stand and watch,” Swaney said. “In the second half, we made a concerted effort to get the ball inside and attack.”
It started with DelBaggio, who looked to penetrate the Lady ‘Cats’ zone on nearly every offensive possession. She scored seven points in the third period and McNelis added four as part of an 11-1 run to close the third that had Tyrone ahead 43-28.
DelBaggio added five more in the fourth quarter to finish the game with 12 points, all of which came in the second half.
“Marie falls into a bad habit sometimes where she catches the ball standing and then she’s not half the player she can be,” Swaney said. “In the second half she did a better job of being down and ready to move.”
For the game, Tyrone forced 22 turnovers, all without the aid of any full-court pressure. However, the Lady Eagles’ ability to confuse Huntingdon by switching defenses and create turnovers with traps in the front-court was a pattern Swaney would like to see continue.
“We’re not an overly quick team so it’s hard to create offense with our defense,” he said. “But we’re not bad defensively and against a patient team like Huntingdon we had to reverse they’re patience with some pressure in the half-court.”
HOOP NOTES: Huntingdon dipped to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the Mountain League…. Abbie Sheffield and Linsy Norris led the Lady ‘Cats with eight points each….Amber DelBaggio added five assists and Marie DelBaggio had five steals….Marie DelBaggio and Turner topped the rebound charts with seven each….Tyrone is now surrendering 46 points per game and preparing to face a Lewistown team that has already scorched two Mountain League teams for 90….Tyrone hasn’t beaten the Lady Panthers since 1994.
JUNIOR VARSITY
The Tyrone jayvees just missed their elusive first victory of the season, falling to Huntingdon 37-34 in overtime.
The Lady Eagles fought back from a 15-11 halftime deficit to lead in the fourth quarter before the Lady ‘Cats sent it to the extra frame, where they outscored Tyrone 8-5.
Emily Ingle and Heather Stanton led Tyrone with seven points each and Kylie Wallace grabbed eight rebounds.
VARSITY
Tyrone 52 Huntingdon 37
TYRONE – M. DelBaggio 2 7-7 12; Turner 3 2-4 8; A. DelBaggio 1 0-0 2; Haag 9 0-0 22; McNelis 4 0-0 8; McKenna 0 0-0 0; Bryan 0 0-0 0; Wallace 0 0-0 0; Stanton 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 19 9-11 52
HUNTINGDON – A. Sheffield 3 2-4 8; Norris 2 4-4 8; Frederick 2 3-4 7; Hallahan 1 0-0 2; Snyder 1 1-2 3; Goss 3 3-4 9. TOTALS: 12 13-22 37
Score By Quarters
TYRONE 15 10 18 9 – 52
HUNTINGDON 4 15 9 9 – 37
3-POINT GOALS: Haag (4), M. DelBaggio (1)
JUNIOR VARSITY
Huntingdon 37 Tyrone 34
TYRONE – McKenna 2 0-0 5; Wallace 1 0-0 2; Stanton 3 0-2 7; Roth 3 0-0 6; Lloyd 0 0-0 0; Hoover 2 0-1 4; Ingle 2 2-6 7; Lewis 0
0-0 0; Russell 0 0-0 0; J. Hoover 1 1-1 3; Taylor 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 14 3-10 34
HUNTINGDON – Johns 4 0-2 8; Sheffield 2 0-0 5; Hoover 0 0-0 0; Thompson 1 5-8 7; Hallahan 3 3-10 9; Hurley 3 0-2 6; Fortson 0
0-0 0. TOTALS: 13 8-22 37
3-POINT 2 (McKenna 1, Stanton 1), Ingle (1); Huntingdon 1 (Sheffield 1)
TYRONE 9 2 6 12 5 – 34
HUNTINGDON 6 11 4 8 8 – 37
