With just two full weeks left on the 2019-20 basketball schedule, and a light Thursday night on the calendar, it’s a good time to hit pause and take a look at some of the top local storylines on the hardwood.
— With Coudersport’s 38-30 victory over Port Allegany on Wednesday night, the Lady Falcons have all but clinched the North Tier League crown for a fifth consecutive year. The last time Coudy wasn’t on top of the NTL — the 2014-15 season — the Lady Gators won the league with a 15-1 mark. Now, Coudy does still have three league games remaining this year and just a two-game cushion over Otto-Eldred (and yes, crazier things have happened), but the Falcons have games against Cameron County and Austin on the schedule, two teams that they topped 53-19 and 49-10, respectively, earlier in the season. Even more encouraging for Coudy is that it closes the campaign against those Lady Terrors, which it beat 43-24 earlier this month. Since 2015, the Lady Falcons are an incredible 75-2 in league games. What makes them so challenging to face this season is a quartet of players (Lauren Stimaker, Sarah Chambers, Rosalyn Page, Mikayla Gunn) who could each go off for double-digits on any given night. The girls Class A bracket will be a challenge for Coudy to win this year, with still-unbeaten and three-time defending champ North Clarion the clear-cut favorite, but with a defense that’s allowed over 40 points just twice this season, the Falcons will be a tough out for any team.
— Over on the boys side of the NTL, the league race is still up for grabs, though Smethport’s upset win over Cameron County Thursday certainly put a wrinkle atop the league standings. Coudersport (13-0 NTL) and Cameron County (11-2) are now separated by two games with a meeting in Emporium next Tuesday that go a long way towards determining the divisional crown. Similar to their female counterparts, the Coudy boys have long dominated the league and are currently on a 77-game NTL win streak. The Falcons dispatched Cameron Co. 71-38 in the season’s first meeting, but the Red Raiders have been flying high ever since. They won nine consecutive games, including impressive victories over Punxsutawney and St. Marys, before falling to the Hubbers.
— Back here in Bradford, it’s been quite the week for both basketball teams. On the boys side, the Owls took care of Brockway at home (56-26) and then traveled to St. Marys and pummeled the Dutch, 64-33 on Wednesday. With that team finally getting healthy, it’s no surprise that the wins — and the stellar play on defense — have followed. Star point guard Tyler Gigliotti is averaging 21.7 points per game over his last four contests, and Steve Knowlton and Evan Schmidt have become steady secondary scoring options, and the team’s offense could prove dangerous come the playoffs. With St. Marys (4-12 overall) and Punxsutawney (5-10) both struggling this season, it seems all but certain that it’ll be a two-team bracket in the D9 Class AAAA playoffs between the Owls and Clearfield (9-7). The Bison have topped Bradford in each of the last two championship games. But well before they can look ahead to that, the Owls will go for three straight wins tonight at home against a tough Wellsville (N.Y.) team. The Lions have scored victories against common opponents Olean and Bolivar-Richburg, two teams Bradford has also defeated.
— As well as the boys have been playing, it was the girls team that provided the game of the week in District 9 Wednesday night at Bradford High. It would take some serious research to find out when the last time a team got shut out in the first quarter and was trailing by 13 at the half to a team as good as St. Marys came back to win, but the Lady Owls did just that to stun the Lady Dutch. With freshman Alanna Benson coming on late in the season and playing her best basketball (36 points over the last two games) Bradford will be a dangerous team down the stretch. Erica Marshall’s 27 points were a season-high against St. Marys and paired with Hannah Lary and Benson give Bradford one of the best backcourts in District 9. Sitting currently at 8-10 after also beating Coudersport last Saturday, the Lady Owls close the season with four consecutive D9 League games. And though they lost to those four opponents — DuBois, Brookville, Elk County Catholic and Punxsutawney — earlier this season, Bradford was competitive in each of those games.
— Some marquee boys games to look forward to across D9 next week: DuBois at Bradford (Tuesday); Coudersport at Cameron County (Tuesday); Kane at Johnsonburg (Friday). Girls games: Punxsutawney at St. Marys (Tuesday); Brookville at Bradford (Friday); St. Marys at Elk County Catholic (Friday).
(Anthony Sambrotto, the Bradford Era Sports Editor, can be reached at asambrotto@bradfordera.com).
