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DuBois girls top Clearfield on Senior Night - by Chris Wechtenheiser, The Courier Express

DuBois — The DuBois girls basketball program celebrated its large senior class prior to Tuesday night’s game against visiting Clearfield, then went out and captured a hard-fought 39-25 victory against the Lady Bison.

Ten Lady Beaver seniors — Shelly Anderson, Kamryn Fontaine, Abbie McCoy, Alexas Pfeufer, Gabby Orzechowski, Maddie Orzechowski, Grace Puncheon, Madison Rusnica, Teegan Runyon and Rylee Werner — were honored before warm-ups.

The emotions of that ceremony then seemed to carryover into the first quarter as the Lady Beavers got off to a sluggish start and trailed 8-6 after eight minutes. The teams then traded mini-runs to open the second quarter before a 7-0 run by the Lady Beavers late in the half gave them an 18-13 lead at the break.

The Lady Beavers (12-9) never trailed from there as they built a double-digit lead thanks to an 11-3 third quarter that put them up 29-16. However, the Lady Bison only got as close as 11 points on a hoop by Hannah Glunt to start the fourth.

DuBois extended its lead to as many as 18 points (39-21) before eventually winning by 14.

Pfeufer led the Lady Beavers with 11 points, while McCoy and Fontaine added eight and six, respectively. McCoy added eight rebounds.

“I was very excited for the seniors,” said DuBois coach Cory hand. “They were excited to play and it was a big night for them. I told them before the game ... think of all the time and effort and all the miles you have put in with you parents taking you every place to play.

“Through the good and the bad, it’s coming down to these last weeks, and go out and play your hearts out. I felt we played very hard today. The defense carried us, and I thought we rebounded well at times and other times, there were some lapses.

“But, Clearfield is much like us — very scrappy and just kept clawing their way back into it. That seems to be our style too. We just have to get more consistent knocking down shots, whether they are layups or open shots. We got a lot loose balls and did a nice job creating opportunities for ourselves. it’s just a matter of cashing more of them in.

“I’m very pleased were able to get the seniors time today and get them a win.”

Pfeufer started the game with a bang as she hit a 3-pointer just 36 seconds in, but it would take more than two minutes for either side to score again. Fontaine ended that drought when she came up with a steal and went coast-to-coast for a layup to make it 5-0 just past the 5-minute mark.

Unfortunately for DuBois, it would score just one more point in the quarter on a Rusnica free throw as Clearfield (10-12) put together an 8-1 run to grab an 8-6 lead. Mia Helsel capped that spurt with the final five points on her way to scoring a game-high 13.

Pfeufer righted the ship for DuBois with another 3-pointer at the 5:34 mark of the second quarter to put the Lady Beavers back up 9-8. Teammate Lynx Lander followed with a hoop of her own before Clearfield scored three straight to even the game at 11-11 with 2:26 remaining in the half.

The Lady Beavers then seized control of the game as a Runyon 3-pointer sparked an 8-0 run that featured baskets by Werner and McCoy. A late hoop by Clearfield’s Alayna Winters made it a 5-point game (18-13) at the half.

DuBois kept the defensive pressure on in the third quarter, holding Clearfield to just three points in the frame while putting together a 7-0 spurt to push its lead out to 12 at 25-13. McCoy and Gabby Orzechwoski each had baskets in that run, with Pfeufer hitting a trey in between.

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Helsel momentarily stopped the DuBois run with a free throw, but Fontaine and Werner added baskets for the Lady Beavers to make it 29-16 after three.

Glunt scored to start the fourth to make an 11-point game, but the Lady Beavers promptly rattled off six straight points — two each for Pfeufer, McCoy and Rusnica — to put DuBois up 17 (35-18).

Helsel countered with a 3-pointer, but basktes by Fontaine and McCoy gave DuBois its largest lead of the night at 39-21 with 1:28 to play. Clearfield scored the final four points of the game on a pair of Helsel free throws and a hoop by Cayleigh Walker.

DuBois closes out its regular season on Friday on at home against Brookville, then will open the District 8/9/10 Class 5A playoffs in early March against Cathedral Prep at a District 10 site.

DUBOIS 39, CLEARFIELD 25

Score by Quarters Clearfield 8 5 3 9 — 25
DuBois 6 12 11 10 — 39

Clearfield—25 - Mia Helsel 4 3-4 13,Hannah Glunt 2 1-4 6,Cayleigh Walker 1 2-2 4,Riley Ryen 0 0-0 0,Alayna Winters 1 0-0 2,Arika Jones 0 0-0 0. Totals: 8 6-10 25.

DuBois—39 - Kamryn Fontaine 3 0-0 6, Madison Rusnica 1 1-4 3, Abbie McCoy 4 0-0 8, Alexas Pfeufer 3 2-2 11, Gabby Orzechowski 1 0-0 2, Rylee Werner 2 0-0 4, Teegan Runyon 1 0-0 3, Bree Weible 0 0-0 0, Maddy Orzechowski 0 0-0 0, Lynx Lander 1 0-0 2. Shelly Anderson 0 0-0 0. Grace Puncheon 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 3-6 39.

Three-pointers: Clearfield 3 (Helsel 2, Glunt , DuBois 4 (Pfeufer 3, Runyon).