Clearfield's Gwenn Porter hits a jumper over two Bradford defenders during the Lady Bisons' 45-27 win Tuesday at Arthur J. Weiss Gymnasium. Porter scored 10 points and recorded seven steals to lead the Lady Bisons. (Photo by Rich Murawski)

But with the suffocating defense the Lady Bisons employed against Bradford, they really didn't need to hit many shots.

Clearfield had 14 steals and forced 26 Bradford turnovers on its way to a convincing, 45-27, win.

"We were a little sluggish on offense, and I think that's a little letdown from the St. Marys game as well as the holidays," Clearfield head coach Joey Castagnolo said. "I know both teams have to play, but it (offense) just didn't seem right tonight. But our defense absolutely won that game for us."

Gwenn Porter was the motor in the Lady Bison defensive engine as she came away with seven steals, converting three of them into coast-to-coast layups and dishing out an assist on a fourth fast break started by her quick hands.

"Gwenn Porter spearheaded the defense out front," Castagnolo said. "She was the key. Gwenn is often overlooked because she may not score as much as some of the other girls. But tonight, she took control."

Sarah Kovalick and Annie Janocko each added three steals as the Clearfield half-court zone gave Bradford fits all night long.

"I'm a zone guy ... everybody knows that," Castagnolo said. "Zones will work if you move, and we did move. And we had our hands up. I'm just so happy the defense won it."

Despite the dominating defense, Clearfield held just an 8-4 lead after one quarter and a 20-12 advantage at the half as an 8-for-33 performance from the field undermined the defensive effort.

But after surrendering a quick bucket to start the third quarter, the Lady Bisons found a little offense and went on an 8-0 run to grab a 28-14 lead late in the third.

Porter and Kovalick each hit a pair of baskets, with three of them starting with steals at the Penns Valley end of the floor.

Leading 30-18 early in the fourth, Clearfield pulled away for good with another 8-0 run, This time, Amber Byerly made two tough baskets in the paint with Jayme Ryan adding a jumper and Porter hitting a layup off a Kovalick steal and pass. That put the Lady Bisons up 38-20 with less than four minutes left to play.

"We made some shots (in the second half)," Castagnolo said. "I knew going in we were the better team. Bradford is down this year. They've been up for the last couple years, and now it's our turn. I just didn't want them to hang around, and the kids knew it. We almost had them two or three times, and then we finally got them in the fourth quarter."

Porter and Byerly led Clearfield with 10 points each. Janocko added eight points and Ryan netted seven.

"We've been balanced all year, and I really love that," Castagnolo said. "Down the line, people are going to try to pick out someone to stop, and the other girls can pick them up. That's what I like."

Bradford came out on top in rebounds, posting a 39-30 advantage. But Byerly led all players with nine boards. Janocko pulled down six.

Despite losing the rebound battle, there were times when Clearfield, led by Byerly and Janocko were able to control the glass. And when Bradford was getting offensive rebounds, it was unable to convert many putback opportunities.

The Lady Owls had one sequence in the fourth quarter where they got four offensive boards on the same possession but didn't come away with any points, They shot just 25 percent (5-for-20) in the quarter and 23.6 percent for the game.

"It's a different lineup with Amber in there," Castagnolo said. "She can control the boards. Annie is so quick. She's undersized, but she's quick and she's played there before. I thought they did a nice job. In the second half, I thought Amber controlled her emotions a lot better and took care of the job."

Clearfield's only trey of the night was the last one it took as Ryan answered Bradford's lone three with one of her own on the next Lady Bison possession. That made the score 41-23.

With the long-distance shots not dropping for the Lady Bisons, Castagnolo was thrilled with the margin of victory.

"They really get fired up as a team when somebody hits a three, and tonight it wasn't dropping," he said. "But what I liked is even though we couldn't hit the three, we still won by almost 20. We battled through a cold shooting night and still won by 20."

Michelle Keane paced Bradford with eight points, while Kaitlin Morris pulled down eight rebounds.

Clearfield improved to 2-2 with the win.

Bradford won the junior varsity contest, 46-27. Lisa Ambuski led Clearfield with eight points.

The Lady Bisons return to the hardwood Saturday at the Bald Eagle Area Tournament. They battle Jersey Shore in the opener at 5 p.m.

Bradford-27
Siffrin 2 0-0 5, Wiseman 2 0-2 4, Hanson 0 0-0 0, Teriberry 1 0-0 2, C. Morris 2 0-0 4, K. Morris 2 0-0 4, Keane 4 0-0 8, Irons 0 0-0 0, Ekas 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 0-2 27.

Clearfield-45
Ja. Ryan 2 2-2 7, Porter 5 0-0 10, Byerly 5 0-0 10, Kovalick 2 0-0 4, Janocko 4 0-2 8, Sopic 0 2-2 2, Moore 1 0-0 2, Zalno 0 0-0 0, Butler 0 0-0 0, Schultz 1 0-0 2. Totals: 20 4-6 45.

Three-pointers: Siffrin; Ryan.

Score by Quarters
Bradford                                  4            8            4            11-27
Clearfield                                8           12          10            15-45