FRILLS CORNERS, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Most players wouldn’t even entertain the notion of launching a 35-foot shot.
But Emma McFarland isn’t most players.
The senior guard on the North Clarion girls basketball team is apt to fire away from just about anywhere.
Twenty feet? Please. No problem. Thirty feet? She’ll try one from out there, too. Pushing 40 feet? Just watch her drain it.
“People ask what her range is,” said North Clarion coach Terry Dreihaup, grinning. “I tell them anywhere in the building.”
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McFarland doesn’t always like to show off that range. She doesn’t always enjoy pulling the trigger from that far out. But she did on her home floor on Wednesday night against Keystone, hitting two very long 3-pointers — she might as well have been shooting from the heart of the Allegheny National Forest — on her way to a game-high 14 points to lead the Wolves to a 42-31 win over Keystone.
“Normally, I like to work and see if I can find a better open shot before I actually shoot deeper,” she said, smiling. “I don’t like to shoot deeper unless I have to because I’d rather get an easier shot, a higher-percentage chance of making it.”
It doesn’t matter from where the points come from for McFarland — 40 feet or one foot away — as long as they come.
And along with those points, victories.
A lot of both have happened this season. McFarland is leading a well-balanced team in scoring and the Wolves are 10-0.
McFarland has been excelling despite chronic shoulder issues that have dogged her most of her life.
It’s a genetic condition that makes her shoulder joints dislocate easily.
(North Clarion’s Emma McFarland was the Hager Paving Incorporated Player of the Game.)
McFarland’s shoulders have popped out more times than she can count over her years of playing sports — the left more than her right.
“It’s painful,” McFarland said. “My team’s really supportive about it, and I just love basketball so much, so it’s worth it.”
Her twin, Madison, doesn’t have the same issue.
She dodged that particular genetic bullet.
“It’s been pretty good recently, this year, though, since I began wearing this brace,” Emma McFarland said. “There are times when it’s a little stiff, but other than that, I just push through it mentally.”
McFarland, again, was part of a many-pronged attack for North Clarion.
Lily Homan and Lauren Lutz each added nine points and Ainsley Hartle pitched in eight — six coming on two 3-pointers of her own in the first quarter.
That has been the Wolves’ recipe of success this season: spreading out the scoring.
“It doesn’t really matter who scores, as long as we get the points on the board,” McFarland said. “It really nice, actually, because the teams can’t focus on one person. They can try to face guard Lily, then either Ainsley Hartle or my sister, Madison McFarland, then they’ll make shots.”
And, of course, Emma as well.
Her two long-range 3-pointers in the second quarter helped give North Clarion some breathing room in a game that was tight early.
That was something new for the Wolves, who have been jumping out quickly against opponents this season.
That didn’t happen against Keystone, which trailed 10-9 with possession and a chance to take the lead late in the first quarter.
But a turnover turned into a 3-pointer by Homan with 25 seconds left and a 13-9 advantage.
That began a 15-0 run, culminating on McFarland’s second deep 3-pointer of the second quarter, to put North Clarion ahead 25-9 lead.
Keystone, though, didn’t fold.
“We’re getting better,” said Panthers’ coach Andy Traister. “We just have to stop the silly stuff, like the silly turnovers. But we hung in there with a really good team.”
The Panthers (3-6) were able to whittle the North Clarion lead down to 10 at 28-18 in the third quarter. Keystone, however, wasn’t able to get the game into single-digits.
“I feel like in the second half of the season, we’re gonna put it together,” Traister said. “We’re getting there, but we’re just not quite there.”
The game also featured an intriguing battle inside between two of the tallest post players in District 9.
The 6-foot-3 Lutz and Keystone’s 6-footer, Natalie Bowser, squared off all evening.
Bowser led the Panthers with 13 points.
Each had their moments against the other.
“That was a great matchup,” Traister said. “They both played really well. They’re both really good players. Lauren is playing really well now and so is Natalie. It was pretty interesting to watch. You don’t get to see two bigs like that in our KSAC very often.”
Lutz was solid defensively, altering shots and making things tough for Bowser inside.
“She has such a big wing span,” Dreihaup said of Lutz. “If she goes straight up, not a lot of people can shoot over her. I think Natalie had a problem with that tonight.”
“Lauren is awesome,” Emma McFarland added. “She doesn’t force the shot if she doesn’t have to. She knows how to look opposite. She knows how to dish it back out to the outside. But if she can take it, she’ll take it.”
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