FOXBURG, Pa. (EYT/D9) — After a disappointing loss to North Clarion last week, Clarion girls basketball coach Sam Heeter wanted to send his team a message.
It was loudly received.
“I told the girls we needed to play harder and I was going to make them do it by pressing,” Heeter said.
(Pictured above, Clarion players break the huddle before taking on Union/A-C Valley)
It worked. That press produced 12 turnovers alone in the first quarter against Union/A-C Valley and 34 in the game as the Bobcats rolled to a 57-19 win at A-C Valley High School on Monday night.
“Their effort tonight is the whole idea behind the press,” Heeter said. “I’m getting better effort out of them that way. We’re flying around. We’re getting steals we need and our quickness is absolutely showcased in our press.”
The smothering defense helped Clarion race out to an 18-7 lead after one quarter. Taylor Alston was the main beneficiary of the steals with 10 of her 14 points in the frame.
Clarion Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
Alston, a senior, has stepped up her scoring this year for a team that surged at the end of last season and has high hopes for this campaign.
“Taylor has been fantastic so far this year,” Heeter said. “She plays hard all game long. She’s really stepped into this role as a scorer for us, which is what we’ve been looking for, honestly, for a few years.”
In the second half, Sophie Babington heated up.
The point guard scored a game-high 24 points with 15 coming after halftime and 22 coming in the final three quarters.
She helped Clarion increase its lead to 29-11 by the end of two and 41-15 after three.
It was a good bounce-back win after the Bobcats struggled in a 47-38 setback to North Clarion to drop to 1-2.
“After North Clarion game, I had to do some soul searching,” Heeter said. “We came back and had a good practice. I think I got my message across pretty well, and I think it showed tonight. We played so hard from the opening tip.”
That made life difficult for Union/A-C Valley, which is in its first year of a co-op between the two schools.
While the meshing has gone well, there are certainly some growing pains.
“I told the girls keep believing in what we’re trying to do here,” said Union/A-C Valley coach Josh Meeker. “This team we played tonight in Clarion — that’s pretty much had the same girls for about two or three years. The same exact girls. I told them, ‘Look around. We’re a new team. You didn’t play with these girls last year.’ It’s going to take awhile to get where we need to be, but I believe in them.”
There’s certainly some talent.
Maddy Dehart has gotten off to a hot start for Union/A-C Valley in the post this season. Ava Strauser, a tall and long forward, has shown the ability to shoot from the outside and point guard Kya Wetzel handles the ball well and has one of the quickest first steps around, which allows her to beat almost everyone down the court and to the rim.
“I believe we can keep getting better,” Meeker said.
Wetzel scored eight points to lead Union/A-C Valley.
It was a notable night for Wetzel for another reason.
(Union/A-C Valley’s Kya Wetzel is presented with flowers by coach Josh Meeker before the game against Clarion. Wetzel, who had surgery to remove her colon after suffering from ulcerative colitis, helped organize a “Shoot for a Cure” night to raise money and awareness)
Wetzel suffered from ulcerative colitis and had her colon removed a little more than a year ago. She still wears an ostomy bag and held a “Shoot for the Cure” event on Monday to raise money a day awareness for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases like ulcerative colitis.
There were basket drawings and a 50/50 drawing with all proceeds going to the Pennsylvania and West Virginia chapter of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
Players, coaches and fans also wore T-shirts for the event.
Clarion Area High School sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Redbank Chevrolet and DuBrook.
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