CLARION – It’s been a while since a Bradford Lady Owls
basketball article has had a Clarion dateline. Seven years, in
fact.

Yet there they were Saturday afternoon, on the floor of Tippin
Gymnasium to play for the District 9 Class AAA championship for the
first time since 1999.

And while the Lady Owls fell 51-36 to district powerhouse
Punxsutawney, the 2005-2006 season must be considered a
success.

The predominant expectation was that this season was to be the
year, and for the first time in a long time, the 13-11 Lady Owls
were a winning team – a championship caliber team.

When the Lady Owls led 10-2 in the second quarter, it looked as
though BHS might be able to wrest the triple-A trophy from the Lady
Chucks, who have now won 80 straight District 9 League games.

Bradford had opened the eight-point margin on a slashing basket
and a three-pointer by Liz Keller. Nikki Siffrinn buried a free
throw and Whitney Cline went high off the glass to close the first
quarter.

It was 10-2 at the 7:14 mark of the second when Shelly Fuhrman
used a head-fake to get a jumper at the elbow.

Here Cline picked up her third personal foul and Punxsy
countered with the key run of the game – a 21-3 spurt over the next
seven minutes.

“Whitney got into some foul trouble and we had to take her out
and that changed everything,” recalled Doug Lloyd, BHS coach. “We
rely on her so much that that really hurt us.

“When she came out it was 10-2 and it was 23-13 after that
stretch. We couldn’t stop it. We had done a really good job up to
that point. We had them under control and their pressure wasn’t
hurting us.”

The Lady Owls stemmed the tide after the break as Fuhrman got
things going with a deep ball and Meghan Perschke added a bucket
inside for a 23-18 score.

Junior point guard Siffrinn took over in the ensuing two
minutes, scoring six points to make it 26-24 at the 3:50 point.

A pair of three-pointers and two foul shots put Punxsy back up
10 at 38-28 and the favored Lady Chucks were able to hold off
Bradford for the remainder.

“They (Punxsy) are very tough,” Lloyd admitted. “There is a
reason they’ve won 80 in a row. They know how to play and they know
how to pressure teams.

“When they started pressuring us more, we turned it over and
they got three or four rebounds in a row. They are too good to give
them that, we have to hold them to one shot and get them out of
there.”

Despite the lapses, Lloyd was proud of his team’s effort in the
game and in the season.

Siffrinn finished with seven points, six rebounds and three
assists; Cline earned nine points and five rebounds; Fuhrman
collected nine points and three steals; and Tricia Copeland grabbed
five rebounds and blocked three shots.

“Everybody played really hard. This was our first time at
Clarion. It was a new experience and we handled it very well. It
wasn’t a 15-point game.

“It was a great season for us, overall,” Lloyd continued. “We
had a lot of ups and downs and some streaks where we played great.
We’ve taken a lot of steps forward. We’re moving in the right
direction.

“The kids were great. I can go right down the list. Nikki
handled the ball well, Whitney was huge inside. Meghan Perschke
played big this year, stepping up inside. Liz Keller plays hard,
Shelly can shoot the lights out, Katie (White) and Tricia came in
to do anything we asked.”

Even in defeat, Saturday’s game – indeed, the ’05-’06 season –
is an indication the Lady Owls are on the verge. And without a
single senior on the roster and a fresh new offseason before them,
Bradford fans have to wonder what next year might bring.