CLARION, Pa. (D9Sports) — Behind a triple-double from Wendy Beveridge, Clarion rolled past crosstown rival Clarion-Limestone, 70-27, in the KSAC North opener for both teams Tuesday night at Clarion High School.
(Photo of Clarion’s Wendy Beveridge. Photo by Kim Constantino)
Beveridge scored 12 points, hauled down 11 rebounds and blocked 11 shots for her triple-double. The blocks came first, she had nine in the first half alone, followed by the rebounds and then the points — 11 of her 12 came after halftime.
“I guess just reading when to do it and how to get there,” Beveridge said about her ability to block shots. “I wait till the ball leaves their hand. That helps a lot (in not fouling).”
Defense was really the name of the game for the Lady Cats (2-1 overall, 1-0 KSAC North), as in addition to the blocked shots Clarion also forced 33 C-L turnovers.
“We just like to keep up our intensity,” Beveridge said of what makes Clarion’s defense tough. “In practice, we work hard at that. That is a real key to the game.”
A 22-5 second quarter helped Clarion put the game away by halftime with a 35-13 lead.
Up 22 at the break, the Lady Cats started the second half on an 11-3 run to put to bed any thought of a C-L comeback and eventually got the game into the 40-point Mercy Rule midway through the fourth quarter.
“It (getting the win after splitting two games over the weekend) is very important to us,” Beveridge said. “It’s a goal for us this season to win a lot of games.”
Watch the entire interview with Beveridge.
Clarion used a balanced offensive effort to score its 70 points with four players reaching double digits.
KK Girvin led Clarion with 16 points with Kait Constantino adding 15 points and six rebounds and Ali Troese chipping in a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Jordan Best also had eight points and 11 boards.
“It’s very important to us (to have balanced scoring),” Beveridge said. “We all work on our shot very much. That way, it is harder for teams to play defense on us. We can have multiple people be able to shoot.”
Maddy Craig, Anna Kennemuth and Francis Milliron each scored seven points for C-L. Milliron added seven rebounds with Craig chipping in six for the Lady Lions (0-3, 0-1).
Clarion is back in action Thursday when it hosts St. Marys, while C-L is off until Saturday when it hosts Ridgway.
CLARION 70, CLARION-LIMESTONE 27
Score by Quarters
C-L 5 8 9 5 — 27
Clarion 13 22 23 12 — 70
CLARION-LIMESTONE — 27
Anna Burns 0 3-6 3, Maddy Craig 3 1-4 7, Emma Smith 1 1-2 3, Abby Simpson 0 0-0 0, Sarah Acree 0 0-0 0, Anna Kennemuth 3 1-1 7, Janelle Pezzuti 0 0-0 0, Monica Heath 0 0-0 0, Sydney Simpson 0 0-0 0, Francis Milliron 3 0-0 7. Totals 10 6-13 27.
CLARION — 70
Jenna Miller 1 0-0 2, Payton Simko 2 1-2 5, KK Girvin 6 2-2 16, Lindsey Kemmer 0 0-0 0, Jordan Best 4 0-0 8, Allie Troese 4 4-5 12, Kait Constantino 7 1-2 15, Wendy Beveridge 5 2-3 12, Eva Lerch 0 0-0 0, Ava Cherico 0 0-0 0, Hannah Hazlett 0 0-0 0, Parris Coulanges 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 10-14 70.
Three-pointers: C-L 1 (Milliron). Clarion 2 (Girvin 2).
