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Clearfield came out hot as it outscored St. Marys 13-8 in the first quarter. Jayme Ryan got things going for the Lady Bisons early. After St. Marys made a free throw to take a 1-0 lead, Ryan made three inside shots to lead a 9-2 Clearfield run.
Ryan had a big first half for the Lady Bisons with 11 points, but a defensive adjustment at halftime by Lady Dutch coach Bob Swanson limited Ryan to just one point after the break.
"Our defense worked hard all game, but Megan Herbstritt did a great job matching up with Ryan," Swanson said.
With Ryan held in check, the Lady Bisons struggled to find the hoop. Clearfield scored four points in the third quarter on two Sarah Kovalick layups. The Lady Dutch outscored Clearfield 14-4 in the quarter to take the lead for good.
St. Marys had trouble getting shots to fall in the first half, but the shots started to fall as the tide turned in the third quarter. Kayla Hoohuli scored 17 of her 27 points in the second half as she led the Lady Dutch attack.
"Kayla really gave us a spark when we needed it," Swanson said.
Hoohuli came up big on offense all day for St. Marys. With Clearfield up 15-10 midway through the second quarter, Hoohuli nailed two 3-pointers and another jump shot for an 8-2 run that put St. Marys up 18-17. However an 8-0 Clearfield run to finish off the half gave the Lady Bisons a 27-21 lead.
The Lady Bisons enjoyed their halftime lead thanks to good shooting, and pulling in rebounds. Clearfield outrebounded St. Marys 16-10 in the first half which limited the number of opportunities the Lady Dutch had to score. With their shots not falling, and Clearfield pulling down most of the boards, St. Marys depended on defense to keep them in the game.
The Lady Dutch defense put pressure on a hot-shooting Clearfield team all game. With Clearfield knocking down open shots consistently, including five 3's, St. Marys had to play tight and contest every shot.
"Clearfield has some good shooters, so we had to pressure them," Swanson said. "Kayla Hoohuli did a good job on defense. She can bother a point guard to no end."
The constant pressure got to Clearfield as they committed 20 turnovers, against just 14 for St. Marys. Six of those 20 Clearfield turnovers were from steals by Hoohuli, who also pitched in with eight rebounds.
Clearfield's shooters found their touch again in the fourth quarter as the Lady Bisons made three shots from behind the arc. However, Hoohuli score nine points of her own in the frame to keep Clearfield from getting too close.
Ryan led the Lady Bisons with 12 points. Kovalick added 10, with seven coming in the second half, and Gwenn Porter scored nine.
Both teams are back in action on Tuesday. St. Marys (7-0) will try to stay unbeaten as they host Brookville and Clearfield (1-2) will host Bradford.
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Reported by Andy Rice, Tri-County Sunday
