PORT ALLEGANY – Bradford High juniors Whitney Cline and Nikki
Siffrinn and sophomore Shelly Fuhrman keyed the Lady Owls to a
54-32 victory to claim the Port Allegany Tournament title
Tuesday.
Cline, Siffrinn and Fuhrman were each selected to the
all-tournament team.
Cline finished the game with 14 points and 14 rebounds, Siffrinn
tallied eight points and dished out five assists and Fuhrman added
eight points.
“Those three made the all-tournament team, and deservedly so,
but it was good to see the whole team play well,” commented Doug
Lloyd, BHS coach. “Everydoby played well. These two days have been
great for us. We’re on a roll and we just have to keep going.”
While the Lady Owls exploded for 84 points on 59 percent
shooting in the opening-round win Monday, BHS managed just a 29
percent showing (19-for-66) in the title game.
“It’s kind of tough to shoot so well two nights in a row, but
our defense was very good,” Lloyd remarked. “Shooting can be here
and there, but our defense has to be there every night.
“Tricia Copeland and Katie White came in and they do a great job
for us defensively, providing us with a big spark which really
helps. Carissa Higley and Kevryn Boser also came in and did a nice
job.”
Kaitlyn Tanner scored 16 points and pulled down six rebounds to
lead the Lady Gators, who suffered their first loss of the season
and are now 9-1.
“Port has a nice team, so it was a well-earned win,” Lloyd said.
“She (Kristina Francis, Port coach) does a nice job with them and
I’m sure they’ll do well this year. They play hard.”
“We stuck with them the first half, but we just had a hard time
with Bradford’s speed and quickness,” lamented Kristina Francis,
Port coach. “We turned the ball over too much against a good team
like (Bradford).”
In the consolation game, Smethport grabbed third place with a
narrow 38-35 win over Austin.
“I was pleased with the way our girls played today after
yesterday’s loss (84-42 to Bradford),” said Eric Lutz, Smethport
coach. “Our foul shooting at the end helped us seal it in the last
30 seconds.”
Diana Phalon’s 10 points led the Lady Hubbers (2-5) in the
victory.
Rayna Valenti’s 15 points paced Austin.
“We jumped out to a big lead in the first half and Austin never
quit,” Lutz conceded. “They came back and it was a traditional
Austin-Smethport barn-burner.”
Both teams return to action Jan. 3 as the North Tier League
opens play. Smethport is at Coudersport while Austin is at Port
Allegany. Bradford, meanwhile, improves to 4-6 on the year and will
be at St. Marys the same day.
