No one has ever questioned the way the Tyrone Lady Eagles play defense. On that end of the floor, they’re aggressive, physical and active, and that’s why they’re in the top three in Section II of the MAC in points allowed.
However, plagued by poor shooting percentages since the start of the season, Tyrone is now asking its defense to do one more thing: create offense.
It was a strategy that worked last night at home in a 44-35 win over Philipsburg-Osceola when, despite shooting an abysmal 17 for 78 from the floor, the Lady Eagles were able to dictate the offensive pace of the game by extending their defense full court. It created more open-court shot opportunities for a Tyrone offense that struggles getting people involved in its half-court sets, and it allowed the Lady Eagles to take advantage of P-O’s young and inexperienced guards.
“We’ve been working on applying different types of pressure to help our offense,” said Tyrone coach Jim Swaney. “We hope to try to get some turnovers off of it and convert them into easy points.”
While no points come easy when you shoot 21.8 percent, the strategy did work in allowing Tyrone to force 39 Lady Mountie turnovers. Eleven came in a pivotal third quarter when the Lady Eagles built a nine-point lead out of the gate after the first half ended with the score tied 18-18.
Tyrone started the third quarter making three of its first five shots, including baskets in transition by Emily McKenna and Hilary McNelis, and went ahead 27-18 when Stefani Bryan made a driving jump shot at 4:21. P-O pushed back and cut it to 27-26 on a lay-up by six-foot senior Erin Albert, but she picked up her fifth foul 30 seconds later, taking away the inside presence that had made looks for McNelis on the interior tough through the first three quarters.
McNelis scored eight of her game-high 16 in the fourth quarter.
Swaney felt his team’s ability to change its pressure at the start of the second half, employing a 2-1-2 and 3-1-1 full-court presses after using mostly a half-court 1-3-1 set in the first half, was a key factor in the outcome.
“Early in the second half we used our pressure much better,” he said. “We were flying to the ball a lot more and getting turnovers. That wasn’t a problem.”
Tyrone is now 6-8 on the season, and it closed out MAC first cycle play 2-4. P-O, whose roster is filled almost entirely with sophomores and freshmen as the Lady Eagles’ was a year ago, fell to 3-11 and 0-6.
The Lady Mounties actually led for much of the first half, due in large part to a strong first quarter by Albert, who scored eight points in the frame. Tyrone, meanwhile, went 2 for 21 and trailed 12-6.
But a 7-0 run in the middle of the second quarter allowed Tyrone to take its first lead, 15-14, on a Liz Tepsic foul shot at 3:56. The Lady Eagles made just 5 of 22 from the floor in the second, but they were forced to overcome more than poor shooting when starting guard Emily Lloyd left the game after being hit in the nose during a scuffle for a loose ball.
She was Tyrone’s second starter to go out in the first half after Emily Ingle exited at 1:20 of the first quarter with her third personal foul.
That meant extended minutes for sophomores Bryan and Tepsic, and an expanded role for Tyrone’s other bench players, who combined for 13 points.
P-O, meanwhile, in the absence of Albert, had no points from its bench.
HOOP NOTES: Lloyd was taken to Altoona Hospital with a nose injury … Tyrone failed to hit a three-pointer for the third time this season … McKenna ended with nine points, five assists and five steals … McNelis led Tyrone with 10 rebounds … Albert led P-O with 10.
JUNIOR VARSITY
Tyrone’s jayvees rolled to their second win of 25 points or more this week, defeating P-O 45-12.
Liz Tepsic led the Lady Eagles with 11 points, while Kayla Corle added 12.
The Lady Eagles, who defeated Bald Eagle Area 54-26 on Tuesday, held P-O to four points in the second half, shutting out the Lady Mounties in the fourth quarter.
Tyrone 45 Philipsburg-Osceola 35
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA – Kitko 3 1-2 7; Turner 0 0-0 0; Whitman 1 0-2 2; Lugin 3 3-4 9; Cowher 2 3-5 7; Yarger 0 0-0 0; Albert 5 0-0 10. TOTALS: 14 7-13 35
Tyrone – McKenna 4 1-2 9; Ingle 1 0-2 2; Lloyd 0 0-0 0; Hoover 2 0-0 4; Roth 1 0-2 2; McNelis 6 4-5 16; Bradford 0 1-2 1; Bryan 1 2-4 4; Long 0 2-2 2; Tepsic 2 0-3 4. TOTALS: 17 10-23 44
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA 12 6 8 9 – 35
TYRONE 6 12 14 13 – 45
JUNIOR VARSITY
TYRONE 45 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA 12
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA – Whitman 0 0-0 0; Lugin 0 2-6 2; Kitko 3 0-0 6; Coutier 0 0-0 0; Pebar 0 2-2 2; Husar 0 0-0 0; Walosky 0 0-0 0; Cossick 0 0-0 0; Yarger 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 4 4-10 12
TYRONE – Bryan 3 0-1 7; Tepsic 4 3-4 11; Turiano 2 0-2 4; Garbinsky 1 1-1 3; Long 1 0-2 2; Christine 2 0-0 4; Russell 0 0-1 0; Walker 1 0-0 2; Corle 3 3-4 10; Bartlebaugh 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 18 7-15 45
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA 3 5 4 0 – 12
TYRONE 16 9 9 11 – 45
THREE-POINT GOALS: Tyrone 2 (Corle 1, Bryan 1).
