25/01/20 Mirror photo by Patrick Wachsmunski/Leiha Clapper of Bellwood Antiz driven by Addison Poet of Central.
BELLWOOD — Leeha Clapper played in many key moments for the Bellwood Aunties, helping the Lady Blue Devils reach the PIAA semifinals as a freshman.
BA was on a three-game losing streak heading into Monday’s matchup with Central, but Clapper’s experience helped the Lady Devils stop the slide and cruise to a 40-39 victory.
“We were looking for someone to be a leader and take charge,” Clapper said. “We talked about it before the game and felt like we all needed to step up. As a senior, I wanted to be a leader and encourage everyone and help them get better.”
With his team trailing 14-9 and Lily Gerwart ejected for three fouls with 6:42 left in the first half, Clapper scored seven points on an 11-3 run to put the Bellwood Aunties ahead.
“Leeha has played a lot of basketball,” Bellwood Antis coach Kylie Longo said. “She knew her team needed her to take the initiative tonight, and I thought we did a good job of finding her and making the extra pass and finding the open man. It helped me get into the flow and help Reiha make her shots. When her shots start falling, pay attention.”
Central fought back early in the first half with a 3-point shot by Addie Long and a putback by Addie Imes to tie the score, and entered the fourth quarter with a one-point lead.
But Clapper made two long 3-pointers in the final period that accounted for six of Bellwood’s eight points and proved to be the difference.
“The message for us is if we work hard and play together, good things will happen,” Longo said. “Right now, we’re not thinking that far ahead, just the next game in front of us. We have BG on Thursday and Hollidaysburg on Monday. It’s one game at a time. If we work hard, our efforts will definitely be rewarded.”
Despite missing most of the game due to foul trouble, Gerwart had 11 points and 11 rebounds, but her teammates filled the void in her absence.
“Not having her on the floor is a big challenge for us,” Clapper said. “It was a big help to have Adi Turek and Hannah Waite step up and help with rebounding.”
Longo said the bench is always ready to contribute.
“Next up is the guy,” Longo said. “We have kids who are ready and ready to go. They know that if someone goes down, they’re in. We lost another kid late in the game (to injury), We had kids come in to fill in. Our freshmen were able to withstand the pressure of a close game, so this was a good lesson for us to fight for the lead and maintain the lead. Ta.”
It was another disappointing loss for Central.
“This is the story of our year,” Lady Dragons coach Blake Over said. “They gave 100 percent. I don’t know what’s going on, but we just find a way to lose at the end. The girls worked hard and did everything right, but I We allowed a lot of offensive rebounds. We have to reflect on what we didn’t do well and improve.”
Central lost 2-11. One of the previous losses was 52-42 against Bellwood Aunties on Dec. 28. The Lady Dragons came very close to winning this game.
“I want to see them continue to work hard,” Over said. “I think we’re much better than our record. The girls can’t give up now. They tried too hard.”
Long and Mara Dixon led Central with nine points each.
The Lady Dragons led by three points with 15 seconds remaining. After a timeout and a run through the offense, Dixon made a layup with about five seconds left.
“We were looking for a drive and a kick,” Over said. “We kicked it and it got covered and she went to the basket. She hasn’t been in that situation too many times, so that’s something she and the team will learn from. Something like that. In these situations, you have to make a 3-point shot.”
There were still timeouts left on the over, but no calls were made following Dixon’s basket, and Bellwood Antis never inbounded the ball as the final seconds passed.
“Yeah, we probably could have done that (with a timeout),” Over said. “It’s still a learning process.”
Central (39): Boyles 1 3-7 5, Dixon 3 2-2 9, Benton 1 1-2 4, Poet 2 0-0 5, Ims 2 0-2 4, Long 2 3-4 9, James 1 0 -0 3. Total — 12 9-17 39.
Bellwood-Antis (40): Clapper 4 2-2 13, Gerwert 4 3-4 11, Norton 1 2-4 5, Cacciotti 1 2-2 4, Sloy 0 2-2 2, Sveigert 1 0-0 3, Turek. 1 0-2 2, weight 0 0-0 0, plummer 0 0-0 0. Total — 12 11-16 40.
Score per quarter
Central 14 8 11 6 — 39
Bellwood-Antis 8 14 10 8 — 40
3-Point Goals: Central 5 (Long 2, Dixon, Benton, James). Bellwood-Antis 5 (Clapper 3, Norton, Sweigert).
Records: Central (2-11); Bellwood vs. Anti (8-7).
Persons involved: Bill Pfeffer, Kevin Laird, Jill Helsel.
JV: No games.
