Against Philipsburg-Osceola last night, the Tyrone girls basketball team was like an animal caught in quicksand: the harder the Lady Eagles tried to put P-O away, the more they choked on their own mistakes.
Tyrone did its best to keep Philipsburg-Osceola in the game, from throwing the ball away against the Lady Mounties’ press to pulling up for deep three-pointers on the fast break while nursing a lead. Fortunately for the Lady Eagles, senior Kayla Corle almost single-handedly snuffed out the Lady Mounties’ effort with what may have been the most influential 60 seconds of her career.
With P-O nipping at Tyrone’s heals, down 58-53 after a 5-0 run cut in half a double-digit lead, Corle nailed a three-point basket at the 2:55 mark of the fourth quarter, sparking a 12-0 run in which she scored 10.
The Lady Eagles went on to win 73-62, snapping a losing streak that had grown to nine frustrating games. Corle finished with a game-high 20, including three treys.
She was one of four Lady Eagles to reach double-figure scoring, putting a highlight on a game where Tyrone coach Luke Rhoades saw only a few positives.
“That’s the balance we need,” he said. “We’re still searching for someone who can provide it every night. We don’t have a superstar that can score 20 every night, so we need points from everyone.”
Unfortunately, the highs just about ended there for Rhoades, who recognized after the game that a performance like last night’s might not do against most teams in the Mountain League.
“There were points where we played well,” he said. “Defensively, we have to play a lot better. We’ve got to improve in almost every aspect of the game. I think we actually practice harder than we play. We’ve got to learn to come out and play with the same intensity we show in practice.”
It sure didn’t look like the way Rhoades had drawn it up, especially when the Lady Eagles were being shredded in the second quarter for 21 points against their man-to-man package.
Nor was it any better in the fourth when, with his team ahead by double-digits, the Lady Eagles turned the ball over nine times and shot just 4-for-13 from the floor, missing eight of their first nine attempts.
“We need someone who is going to step up and give us a spark,” said Rhoades. “We’re missing that right now. It’s almost like we’re fiv‑e individuals out there sometimes. We need someone we can rally around.”
But despite all of Tyrone’s problems, it was a win nonetheless, one that was a long time in coming. The Lady Eagles’ last victory was more than a month ago, on December 6, when they defeated Bald Eagle Area 63-60 in Wingate.
Along with Corle, senior Lindsey Christine scored 17 points, Rachel Emigh added 14 and Kassie Faretta chipped in 10. Each player put up points in spurts, giving the Lady Eagles much needed boosts at key periods in the game.
In the first quarter, it was Emigh scoring seven points, including Tyrone’s first two baskets, as the Lady Eagles built a 17-10 lead.
In the second, when Tyrone’s defense went haywire, Christine scored 10 points over the last four minutes of the half to help the Lady Eagles maintain a seven-point lead (38-31).
The Lady Eagles’ problem was defending Taylor Harpster, and rotating back down the floor in transition. Harpster, who led P-O with 18 points, hit a pair of threes in the second quarter and finished the half with 12. Meanwhile, Megan Yushonis and Alexis Cartwright combined for three breakaway lay ups against Tyrone’s pressure.
Tyrone’s defensive struggles created an interesting halftime for the Lady Eagles.
“I didn’t even say anything. We just did feet shopping and worked on moving our feet in the locker room,” said Rhoades. “That’s how bad our defense was.”
Tyrone threatened to pull away in the third quarter with a 10-4 run, sparked by a three-pointer and a hoop in transition by Faretta, to make it 54-43. But the Lady Mounties scored the last five points of the quarter to keep it close at 54-48.
The Lady Mounties continued to cut into Tyrone’s lead in the fourth, coming within five after a steal and a score by Chelsea Rex with 3:19 to play. That was when Corle re-entered the game after sitting out three minutes with four fouls.
Things changed immediately, with Corle hitting a three on her first shot attempt, just 20 seconds after returning to the floor.
For the next three minutes, Corle became the spark Rhoades would allude to later.
Junior Varsity
The Lady Eagles dropped the junior varsity game to P-O 60-30 despite 13 points from Paris Harden.
Tyrone 73 Philipsburg-Osceola 62
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA – Rex, 1 0-0 2; Wilson 2 0-0 4; Harpster 7 2-3 18; Cartwright 6 4-5 17; Miller 3 2-2 9; Patrick 3 0-0 6; Yushonis 3 0-4 6. TOTALS: 25 8-14 62.
TYRONE – Christine 5 6-8 17; Corle 6 5-9 20; Faretta 3 3-4 10; Garbinsky 1 3-5 6; Emigh 5 4-6 14; Hawes 2 0-4 4; Harden 0 2-2 2. TOTALS: 22 23-36 73.
Score by Quarters
Philipsburg-Osceola 10 21 17 14 – 62
Tyrone 17 21 15 19 – 73
Three-point goals: Tyrone 6 (Corle 3, Garbinsky, Faretta, Christine), Philipsburg-Osceola 3 (Harpster 2, Miller)
