Lady Cats Finish Great Season At 22-7, With Quarter-Final Loss (03/16/14)

The Lady Cats superb 2013-14 Basketball season came to a close, on Saturday (03/15/14), with a 55-45 loss to Bishop Guilfoyle, a private school from Altoona, in a PIAA State Quarter-Final Game. This is the second year in row that the Lady Cats hung tough against the Lady Marauders.

These girls can be very proud that they were the last Girls’ Class A public school team, from Western Pennsylvania, to exit the playoffs. They can also be very proud to have made the “Elite Eight” two years in a row.

Grace Kroh, who had a super game (13 points, 11 rebounds), opened the scoring with a free throw. BG answered with one of their own to tie it at 1-1. Then Grace hit on a layup to give Clarion its second and last lead of the game. The Marauders had an 18-4 run, to close out the first period, to lead 19-7.

And though the Lady Cats wouldn’t lead again, there was absolutely no quit in these girls. With a seven to two, Clarion run to open the second, with Laken Ganoe, Maci Thornton and Kroh contributing points, the Cats cut the deficit to six, at 20-14. And at the half, the Bobcats trailed 25-18.

(Photo by Jack Kenneson) Maci Thornton working through traffic

 A 7-2 run by the Marauders, to open the second half, moved BG’s lead to twelve points, 32-20. But once again-No Quit in the Lady Cats. A Nicki Glenn basket, a layup by Miles and a bucket by Thornton, and the Cats were down by only seven, 32-25. Then, late in the third, Miles scored two and with twenty-seven seconds left on the clock, Nicki Glenn hit a 3 pointer to move to within four, 34-30. But BG answered with a three and two free throws, to go into the fourth with a 39-32 lead.

Miles closed the gap to five, with a bucket to open the last stanza. An 8-4 BG run,  made the score 47-38. Later, with the game winding down, again there was  No Quit in the Lady Cats. Kroh and Miles, sandwiched a BG free throw, with two-point buckets and the Cats trailed by only five, 48-43.

With time running out, Clarion was forced to foul. BG converted on six free throws and moved their lead to twelve 55-43. But fittingly, Clarion senior, Kaitlyn Beichner, finished by scoring the team’s last points of the season, and the final points of her career, with two free-throws. A senior (Kroh) opened the the scoring in the game and a senior (Beichner) closed it out.

Three Lady Cats finished in double figures: Kroh with 13, Miles with 11 and Thornton with ten. Glenn had 5, Ganoe scored 4 and Beichner finished with three.

(Jack Kenneson Photo)
Kaitlyn Beichner who scored the Lady Cats’ last points of 2013-14

Coach Roger Walter had this to say after the game, “The message I said to my girls in the locker room was a message I’d like every person, in this county to read. I refuse to hang my head, knowing we don’t get to play for five more days. I’ll hang my hat on the fact that we played for four months, did a fantastic job, won another District Title, played great all the way.

“It just came down to we’re at that level where the schools are better than us. We could play this team five times and I’m not sure we’d beat them. They are very talented, loaded full of freshmen and when they need more players, they’ll load themselves full again.

“That’s just where we are at.”

The Lady Cats can stand proud, finishing at 22-7, their third season in a row with 20-plus wins, their second straight District Nine Class-A Title and their second straight “Elite Eight” appearance.

This was great season for the Lady Cats and a great ride for seniors, Kyla Miles, Grace Kroh, Laken Ganoe, Kaitlyn Beichner, Paige Weaver and Olivia Bartley.

CONGRATULATIONS ON A SUPER SEASON, LADY CATS!!!!!!

(Thanks to Jack Kenneson and Chris Ganoe for their photos.)