Penns Valley girls’ basketball downs Bellefonte at Rec Hall

The Bellefonte girls’ basketball team went from going into halftime down a few points, to the Lady Red Raiders looking for answers as Penns Valley took control of the scoreboard and momentum.

And all it took was 10 seconds.

The Lady Rams (3-0) topped Bellefonte (0-3) in the first game of a Rec Hall doubleheader on Friday night, powering through for a 62-39 win.

The Lady Red Raiders looked good early on. They created open shots, and capitalized, keeping up with Penns Valley offensively.

“We were great for 15 minutes and 50 seconds,” Bellefonte coach Adam Gearhart said.

But things fell apart at the end of the second quarter.

As the clock ticked under 10 seconds, Penns Valley’s Isabella Culver pump-faked and drove to the rim, getting an easy layup. The Lady Rams stole the following inbound, forward Mackenzie Ironside was fouled, and she sank the back-end of two free throws.

On the subsequent inbounds play, Bellefonte couldn’t get the ball in, and was called for a five-second violation. Penns Valley took advantage. As the clock expired, Ironside banked one in off the glass.

It was a blur for the Lady Red Raiders, and a blessing for the Lady Rams.

“They took every ounce of momentum in those 10 seconds,” Gearhart said.

“Then we came out (of the locker room) fresh and said now is the time we have to put the pedal down,” Penns Valley coach Karen McCaffrey added.

That’s what Penns Valley did, forcing four turnovers to start the third quarter and converting on all of them. Penns Valley used the momentum swing to outscore Bellefonte 23-6 in the third quarter.

“They pretty much put it away there,” Gearhart admitted.

It wasn’t so one-sided to start, though.

McCaffrey said her players had “Rec Hall jitters” in the opening period, settling into a comfortable offense as opposed to pushing the tempo. That played into Bellefonte’s calmed down style, providing for more back-and-forth.

Then the Lady Rams, especially Ironside, heated up.

The senior not only tallied the final three points of the decisive second quarter, but she also continued her play in the third. Ironside led Penns Valley with 18 points, all of which came in the second and third quarters.

Ironside was locked in, connecting on 7 of 10 field goals in that span.

“Sometimes I don’t even realize it,” Ironside said of her shooting streaks.

It wasn’t all on Ironside’s shoulders. The Lady Rams saw double-digit production from Peyton Homan and Maci Ilgen with 10 apiece, and Jordan Andrus scored all eight of her points in the third quarter.

McCaffrey also credited her depth for keeping up the pace and applying defensive pressure on Bellefonte.

That balance was critical in jumpstarting Penns Valley’s dominant run, and sustaining it enough to secure a win.

“Three games in, we’ve had great leadership from our older kids, a lot of energy from our younger kids,” McCaffrey said. “Once again, I’m proud of my kids.”

This story was originally published December 11, 2015 at 11:52 PM with the headline "Penns Valley girls’ basketball downs Bellefonte at Rec Hall."