BROCKWAY – If the District 9 AAA girls’ playoff can be compared
to an Olympic skiing event, then the Bradford High Lady Owls are
still in the medal hunt after surviving the twist and turns of a
52-40 victory over Clearfield at the Brockway High School gym on
Thursday.

Now the mountain gets a lot steeper and more challenging as the
Lady Owls (12-11) advance to the D-9 title game on March 4 against
four-time champion Punxsutawney at Clarion University. The Lady
Chucks (21-3) own a 79-game winning streak versus District 9
opponents and swept Bradford in the season series.

“If we play like we did in the fourth quarter tonight, we can
beat anybody,” said Doug Lloyd, the fourth-year Bradford High head
coach.

“This is my first playoff win and this is the first time we came
into the playoffs expecting to win.”

Lloyd received outstanding performances from juniors Nicole
Siffrinn and Whitney Cline. Siffrinn had 18 points, seven assists,
seven rebounds, six steals and three blocks shots. Cline
contributed 14 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Although the
duo dominated the contest inside and out, it was actually a total
team effort.

“Everybody helped,” Lloyd offered. “Nikki (Siffrinn) handled the
ball well. Whitney (Cline) never gets a break inside with any
calls, yet she always comes up with 12 rebounds and about 15
points. Shelly (Fuhrman) hits those outside shots and you can’t
leave her open. Liz (Keller) hit some big shots and defensively is
always guarding their best player. Tricia Copeland and Katie White
did a great job off the bench.”

The Lady Owls came out of the gate strong as layups by Siffrinn,
Cline and Keller staked Bradford to a 6-1 lead midway through the
first quarter.

Clearfield (11-14) rallied to take a 7-6 advantage with 1:02
remaining, but Fuhrman drained a three-pointer from the right wing,
Siffrinn canned an 18-footer and Copeland drilled a pair of free
throws to give the Lady Owls a 13-7 advantage after one.

“Those outside shots opened up their (Lady Bisons’) zone a
little more,” Lloyd recalled. “We hit our outside shots, although
we were a little streaky at times.”

The second stanza may have set a world record for jointly-held
balls as Clearfield overcame the grab fest to forge an 18-18
deadlock at the intermission.

“We just weren’t aggressive and let them get a hold of the
ball,” Lloyd admitted.

Bradford commenced the third quarter with a 10-2 run as Keller
and Fuhrman sank trifectas, and Cline and Siffrinn followed with
layins for a 28-20 cushion with 5:34 left.

After Clearfield forced another tie at 28-all, Siffrinn banked
home a layup, and Cline registered a free throw and a six-footer in
the paint for a 33-29 lead after three.

“Every time we got a big lead, they (Lady Bisons) would come
right back,” Lloyd noted. “Clearfield never quit.”

The beginning of the fourth period was almost a carbon copy of
the third as Cline scored five straight points to give Bradford
another eight-point lead (38-30) with 5:42 remaining.

One minute later a pair of buckets by Michelle Welker cut the
Clearfield deficit to 38-34, but Copeland fed Keller for a basket
and then Siffrinn assisted on Copeland’s layup for a 42-34 lead
with 3:11 showing.

The margin was 44-37 when Siffrinn nailed four free throws and
Cline added two more to keep the Lady Owls’ season alive.

“Nikki (Siffrinn) hit those four big free throws at the end and
handled their press,” Lloyd declared. “We just gave her the ball
and got out of her way.”