There’s a vacancy on the Tyrone girls basketball team, and it’s one the Lady Eagles have got to fill from within.
The job description is big-shot-maker.
Without one last night, Tyrone battled Indian Valley on the road to the very end; but when it was time to knock down a clutch shot, it never happened. The Lady Eagles made just one field goal in the last 3:13 and lost to the Lady Warriors 41-37.
It dropped Tyrone to 0-3 in section II of the Mountain Athletic Conference and 3-5 overall. Valley, meanwhile, improved to 6-2 and 3-1 in the MAC.
“We’ve got to make a big shot, and right now, we’re not doing that,” said Tyrone coach Jim Swaney. “It’s hard to battle that. Somewhere, somebody’s going to have to step up and make one.”
While Valley was uncharacteristically cold from the field, the Lady Warriors had several players step up a make a basket with the game in the balance. They started the fourth quarter with sophomore Blayke Narehood hitting a three-pointer to put her team up 30-28, and later freshman Katie Norris hit another to make it 35-32.
Senior Megan Tewksbury scored eight points in the second half as part of her team-high 13 to help the Lady Warriors overcome a six-point deficit.
“(In the third quarter) you could see a bunch of young kids standing around looking for somebody to do something, and a senior made the plays,” said Valley coach Roger Herto of Tewksbury. “She is a gamer.”
Hilary McNelis led Tyrone with a game-high 14 points and Emily McKenna added 12.
McNelis dominated the second quarter, scoring six points, and Tiffany Bradford added four as the Lady Eagles were able to limit IV to one shot offensively and stake an 18-12 lead at halftime.
The lead grew as big as eight after Emily Ingle made a jumper to start the third quarter, but Valley went on a 15-4 run over three-and-a-half minutes to lead 27-24. McKenna scored twice in the last :45 of the third – once on a jumper in the lane and once on a drive to the hoop – to put the Lady Eagles back on top, 28-27.
In the fourth quarter, McNelis scored twice early to keep Tyrone within one, and Ingle made 1 of 2 foul shots at the 1:54 mark to tie the game at 35-35. But the Lady Warriors went 6 for 6 from the stripe in the last 45 seconds, while the Lady Eagles couldn’t buy a bucket.
“Our defense has been consistent all year,” said Swaney. “But we have to put the ball in the basket and right now we’re just not doing it.”
JUNIOR VARSITY
The Lady Eagles topped Indian Valley in the junior varsity game 49-48 after rallying from a 25-17 halftime deficit.
Elizabeth Tepsic topped Tyrone’s scoring chart for the second straight game, netting 12 points. Meg Turiano added 10 and Kayla Corle chipped in eight.
VARSITY
Indian Valley Tyrone 37
TYRONE – McKenna 5 2-2 12; Ingle 1 1-2 3; Lloyd 2 0-0 4; McNelis 7 0-0 14; Hoover 0 0-0 0; Roth 0 0-2 0; Bradford 2 0-0 4; Long 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 17 3-6 37
INDIAN VALLEY – Norris 1 2-2 5; Narehood 2 0-0 6; Mitchell 2 0-0 4; Mernin 0 0-0 0; Warntz 1 0-0 3; Bell 2 2-2 6; Tewksbury 4 5-8 13; Schulze 2 0-0 4. TOTALS: 14 9-12 41
TYRONE 4 14 10 9 – 37
INDIAN VALLEY 5 7 15 14 – 41
3-POINT GOALS: Indian Valley 4 (Norris 1, Narehood 2, Warntz 1)
JUNIOR VARSITY
Indian Valley 49 Tyrone 48
TYRONE – Bryan 1 4-4 6; Tepsic 4 4-4 12; Walker 0 0-0 0; Russell 1 0-0 2; Turiano 5 0-0 10; Corle 3 1-2 8; Glace 1 3-4 5; Garbinsky 2 0-0 4; Christine 0 2-4 2; Bartlebaugh 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 17 14-18 49
INDIAN VALLEY – Litwiller 1 2-4 4; Norris 1 3-3 5; Hall 0 0-0 0; Bargo 2 1-2 5; Harmon 2 0-0 6; Hartsock 1 0-0 2; Mernin 9 1-2 22; Shearer 2 0-0 4. TOTALS: 18 7-11 48
Score by Quarters
TYRONE 9 8 19 13 – 49
INDIAN VALLEY 10 15 14 8 – 48
3-POINT GOALS: Tyrone 1 (Corle 1)
Indian Valley 5 (Harmon 2, Mernin 3)
