Even though the results aren’t quite there yet, the growth is evident for the Bradford High girls basketball team.
Just hours after going toe-to-toe with one of District 9’s best teams in Punxsutawney Friday night, the Lady Owls were back at it against 18-3 Keystone Saturday. The result was a 49-40 setback, but coach Bob Hannon saw plenty of positives in the regular season finale for both teams.
“I thought the girls played hard,” he said. “That’s maybe the number one team in District 9. You tell them we’re not that far away but we’re still miles away. No matter what, it’s a a good learning experience for us. We just have to find a way to get over that hump.”
The Lady Owls (6-16) trailed by eight, 36-28, going into the fourth quarter, but twice cut the deficit to five — first on a three by sophomore Kam Piscitelli with 3:45 to play and again with 1:30 to go on an offensive putback from Rylee Lundgren.
Lundgren, the team’s lone senior, has been playing her best basketball late in the season and once again led the Lady Owls with 19 points.
Bradford had a chance to cut the deficit even further after a defensive stop, but a turnover thwarted that plan and the Lady Panthers (19-3), winners of 15-straight, were able to make 5-of-6 free throws in the final 1:15 to secure the win.
“I love playing this game because I know what it’s going to be like,” said Keystone coach Barry Foust. “They’re (Bradford) well-coached and really made us work.”
Keystone is led by Maddie Johnson, the reigning D9Sports.com Player of the Year and St. Francis (Pa.) commit.
Bradford, however, kept Johnson in check, limiting her to nine points, her lowest of the season and 12 off of her average.
Instead it was Amber Hess who stepped up for the visitors, scoring a game-high 13 points.
“They have a lot of nice players, a lot of veteran players,” Hannon said. “They have a good program and a good team.”
It was apparent from the opening tip, however, that the Lady Owls were ready to play.
Bradford jumped out to an 8-5 lead — with all eight points coming from Lundgren and did a number on the boards.
They out-rebounded Keystone 20-14 in the first half, including 10-5 on the offensive end.
“They were killing us on the boards,” Foust admitted. “That’s one thing we have to take care of and one of the things we stress. I thought they out-played us in the first quarter.”
Lundgren and Roggenbaum nailed three’s to start the second quarter, as did Hess and freshman Josselin Geer for Keystone. Bradford took its biggest lead, 21-17 after a jumper from Piscitelli and a free throw by Bri Wells, but Keystone countered with a 9-1 run to close the half and led by four at the break.
“There’s some encouraging things for us,” Hannon said. “I thought Kam had another nice game today. I just think at times inconsistency is more evident with a young team than with a veteran team. I think that’s part of the learning curve that they have to go through.”
Bradford got buckets from Lundgren and Wells to start the third to tie the game at 26-all, but once again, Keystone showed why they are perhaps the favorite in Class A with a 8-0 run, keyed by four points from Alyssa Beichner.
Roggenbaum’s jumper to start the fourth quarter was immediately followed by the biggest shot of the game from Johnson — a corner three that gave Keystone a nine-point lead and some breathing room.
“We got after them a little bit in the locker room,” Foust said of his team.
With nine seconds left and the outcome of the game in hand, Hannon took out Lundgren one final time on her home floor to a loud and well-deserved ovation from the Bradford crowd.
“She’s a great kid,” Hannon said. “She plays as hard as she can every game and gives you everything she has. I couldn’t be more proud of her.”
Added Foust: “Thirty-three (Lundgren) played a heck of a game.”
Both teams now prepare for the District 9 playoffs, with Keystone most likely beginning play in Class A on Wednesday, while Bradford will have to wait a couple of weeks before their third meeting with Punxsutawney in the Class AAA championship game on either Feb. 27 or 28.
“We have things that we need to work on both offensively and defensively to try and have the girls in the right frame of mind to play a good, solid game,” said Hannon, as the Lady Owls will attempt to win their fourth-straight district championship. “We have to work hard over the next two weeks and take our chances when we go play Punxsy again.”
KEYSTONE (49)
Amber Hess 3-5-8-13, Kaci Weaver 1-0-0-2, Maddie Johnson 3-2-4-9, Shayla Chapman 1-0-0-2, Alyssa Beichner 3-2-2-8, Josselin Geer 3-1-2-8, Taylor Geer 2-3-4-7, Totals 16-13-20-49
BRADFORD (40)
Rylee Lundgren 8-1-2-19, Morgan Roggenbaum 2-0-0-5, Bri Wells 2-5-9-9, Lee Woodmansee 0-0-0-0, Raya Hennigan 1-0-0-2, Kam Piscitelli 2-0-0-5, Brinya Moffet 0-0-0-0, Rachel Borland 0-0-0-0, Totals 15-6-11-40
By Quarters
Keystone 11 15 10 13—49
Bradford 10 12 6 12—40
Three-point FGs: Keystone (4) — Hess 2, Johnson, J. Geer; Bradford (4) — Lundgren 2, Roggenbaum, Piscitelli
JV Score: Keystone 49, Bradford 27
