It’s been 735 days and counting since the Bradford High School girls’ basketball team had suffered consecutive District 9 League losses as the Lady Owls recovered from an earlier setback to defeat Punxsutawney 57-43 in the Senior Night home finale on Friday.
“We didn’t play well on Tuesday (58-49 loss to Elk County Catholic), but we put it behind us and moved on,” said Ann Nuzzo, Bradford’s fourth-year (59-33) head coach. “We talked about boxing out and not letting our opponent get offensive rebounds. That’s what killed us on Tuesday.”
Nuzzo’s squad will be working on another streak next season as the Lady Owls have won 22 straight games in the Owls’ Nest.
“We haven’t lost a game in the Bradford High gym since seniors Alex Vinelli and Kaserra Owens were sophomores,” Nuzzo noted.
For a while it seemed both streaks would end on this February evening as the Lady Chucks (13-9, 6-4) were hitting first-quarter 3s like they were going to be declared illegal at 9 p.m.
After Ali Rinfrette had single handedly staked Bradford to a 7-5 lead, Alyssa Reitz drilled two triples from the top of the key and a third from the right wing, and Nicole DiPietro swished bomb another from the opposite side to give Punxsy a 15-7 margin with 31 seconds left in the first quarter.
Owens registered a traditional 3-point play to cut the Bradford deficit to 15-10 after one, and then in the second stanza the Lady Owls’ full court press began to cause havoc as three layups by Rinfrette, one each from Owens and Alex Vinelli, and a 6-footer by Owens completed a 15-0 run for a 22-15 advantage with 5:10 left in the half.
Bradford (19-2, 9-1) then survived two treys by Alyssa Reitz to lead 31-23 at the intermission.
“Punxsy only had two 2-point field goals in the first half,” Nuzzo recalled. “Alyssa Reitz had a great shooting night. We have to do a better job getting out on the shooters if we’re going to continue playing a zone.”
After Alyssa Reitz nailed an 18-footer to commence the third stanza, six points from Rinfrette and a bucket by Haley Vinelli on a feed from sister Alex extended the Bradford margin to 39-25 at the 5:15 juncture.
A trifecta from the right wing by Taylor Newcome halted the 8-0 run, but the Lady Owls responded with a 6-0 spurt on buckets by Haley Vinelli and Owens, and two free throws from Payton Ambrose for a 45-28 bulge with 3;04 showing.
Trailing 47-33 after three periods, Newcome buried a 3-pointer from both corners to pare the disparity to 49-39 with 6:36 left.
The Lady Owls kept it out of reach from the charity stripe as Owens sank all four of her attempts and Rinfrette hit 3-of-4 down the stretch and 8-of-9 in the contest. Rinfrette proved to be a one-girl wrecking crew as the 5-5 junior scored 24 points on 8-of-11 from the field, amassed 10 steals and an equal number of rebounds, and had seven assists.
“Ali (Rinfrette) is the catalyst of the team,” Nuzzo stated. “The way she goes is the way we go. She drove to the basket well and hit some outside shots.”
With the outcome safely in hand at the 31-second mark, Alex Vinelli (eight rebounds) and Owens (19 points) exited stage left to a rousing ovation from the crowd.
“I’m so proud of Alex and Kaserra,” Nuzzo declared. “They’ve had four fantastic years at Bradford High. They are such great role models for the younger players and I wish them the best.”
The Lady Owls will travel to Warren for a non-league encounter on Monday.
“That will be a tough game and a good tuneup for the playoffs,” Nuzzo concluded.
PUNXSUTAWNEY (43)
Alyssa Reitz 7-1-2-20, Ashley Retiz 0-0-0-0, Newcome 3-1-2-10, DiPietro 1-0-0-3, Horner 1-0-0-2, Constantino 2-0-0-4, Fye 2-0-0-4, Totals 16-2-4-43
BRADFORD (57)
Alex Vinelli 1-1-2-3, Ali Rinfrette 8-8-9-24, Ambrose 0-3-4-3, H. Vinelli 2-2-2-6, Owens 6-6-8-19, Totals 18-20-25-57
By Quarters
Punxsutawney 15 8 10 10—43
Bradford 10 21 16 10—57
Three-point FGs: Punxstuawney – Alyssa Reitz 5, Newcome 3, Dipietro 1; Bradford – Owens 1
JV Score: Bradford 33, Punxsutawney 28; Hailey Burgess, Kassi Kloss 10 points each
