(Photo of North Clarion’s Trinity Thompson, who was named the Hager Paving Player of the Game)

Relisten to the game:

The unbeaten She-Wolves (14-0) trailed now three-loss Redbank Valley (13-3), 19-15 at the end of the first quarter and 25-21 near the midway point of the second quarter.

But North Clarion ended the first half on a 17-2 run that was fueled by five 3-pointers to take a 36-27 halftime lead, and the She-Wolves ended up hitting 10 triples in the game, including seven in the first half.

“At the end of the first quarter, I told the girls to quit playing Redbank’s game,” North Clarion head coach Terry Dreihaup said. “We needed to get back to playing what we do best. We started to do that. We pushed the ball, transitioned, used the fastbreak and played great defense, that’s what they did.”

Down 25-21 following a basket by Redbank Valley’s Lauren Smith, Abby Gatesman hit her first basket of the game, a 3-pointer, to start the run.

Triples followed by Gabby Schmader, Addison Shaftic and Mackenzie Bauer to give North Clarion a 33-25 lead before Tara Hinderliter temporarily stopped the damage with a basket for Redbank Valley.

But Shaftic hit another 3-pointer, and Abby Gatesman added an offensive putback and basket just before the horn despite getting hit in the face — no foul was called — to give North Clarion a 38-27 halftime lead.

“To their credit, they hit the threes,” Redbank Valley head coach Chris Edmonds said. “We couldn’t counter it. That got their separation, and from then on out, we had to keep battling to get back in the game.”

Dreihaup credited Shaftic and Gwen Siegel, who scored six points in the second quarter, for giving North Clarion a lift off the bench. Siegel’s contributions were very timely, considering Haley Sherman was stuck on the bench with two fouls.

“I told them when they went in the game if they have an open look to take it,” Dreihaup said. “Addison hit two threes that were huge and Gwen hit three buckets underneath the hoop that were huge. They contributed exactly what they needed to do.”

Trinity Thompson also played a key role in the opening half for North Clarion with four points and seven rebounds and went on to score seven points, grab a game-high 12 rebounds and block at least four shots while being named the Hager Paving Player of the Game.

Thompson said a change in defensive strategy in the second quarter paid huge dividends.

“We start out the first quarter in a man-to-man defense with a faceguard on Hinderliter,” Thompson said. “After that, we switched into our 3-2 match-up defense and that seemed effective for us.”

Thompson’s length in the 3-2 seemed to give Redbank Valley some trouble for a stretch.

“On the defensive side, we definitely have a very tall team,” Thompson said. “So there are other people to help me out. But I am not as strong on the offensive side, so I try to step up when I can on defense and stop shots.”

Watch Thompson’s full postgame interview.

Up 11 at halftime, North Clarion quickly pushed the lead to 23, 52-29, by starting the second half on a 14-2 run that featured scoring from five different players.

That was the theme of the night for the She-Wolves, as four players reached double digits led by 15 points and seven assists from Bauer, 13 points from Schmader, 12 points, five assists and four rebounds from Gatesman, who also blocked at least three shots, and 11 points from Sherman, who was 11 of 15 from the free-throw line while adding seven rebounds.

“They don’t care who scores,” Dreighaup said. “Their goal is to win the game, and, as you could see tonight, they found the open girl whenever they could.”

Down big, Redbank Valley didn’t go away finishing the third quarter on an 11-0 run that featured a pair of 3-pointers from Hinderliter, who finished with a game-high 28 points, to get back within 12, 52-40, going to the fourth quarter.

“They got a little sloppy,” Dreighaup said of his team. “They tried to make some passes maybe they shouldn’t have made, tried to take some shots maybe they shouldn’t have taken. But overall, I am just real proud of the girls and the way they played. I thought Redbank played a great game. I think we were just a little better on defense.”

North Clarion didn’t let the Lady Bulldogs get closer than the 12 points in the fourth quarter, though, starting the frame on a 6-0 sput to push the lead back to 18, 58-40.

“We’re still a young team,” Edmonds said. “We’re still growing as a team. Everybody’s still learning to play with each other. It was good experience in a nice atmosphere to start the second round of a conference.”

Smith added 22 points for Redbank Valley, but the rest of the team scored just six, including four points and a team-high six rebounds from freshman Alivia Huffman.

“We have to rotate the ball better,” Edmonds said. “We got stagnant with the ball and didn’t hit the open player like we should have.”

North Clarion returns to action Thursday at Kane, while Redbank Valley is back in action Friday when it hosts Karns City.

THE COACH AND THE SCRIBE POWERED BY THE REHAB CENTRE

Jess Quinn (The Coach) and Chris Rossetti (The Scribe) broke down the game and talked a little District 9 girls’ basketball in the Jan. 22 edition of The Coach and The Scribe Powered by the Rehab Centre. The Rehab Centre has six locations serving you, including in Clarion, Brookville, and Kittanning. The Rehab Centre, Chiropractors Caring for Health.

NORTH CLARION 70, REDBANK VALLEY 56

Score by Quarters

Redbank Valley 19 8 13 16 — 56
North Clarion 15 23 14 18 — 70

REDBANK VALLEY — 56

Tara Hinderliter 11 3-3 28, Lauren Smith 8 3-4 22, Emma Huffman 0 0-0 0, Karlee Shoemaker 0 0-0 0, Madison Firinger 1 0-0 2, Katie Davis 0 0-0 0, Alivia Huffman 1 2-4 4, Brooklyn Edmonds 0 0-0 0, Gabby Dinger 0 0-0 0, Caylen Rearick 0 0-0 0, Megan Gourley 0 0-0 0, Ryleigh Smathers 0 0-0 0, Claire Clouse 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 8-11 56.

NORTH CLARION — 70

Mackenzie Bauer 4 4-6 15, Addison Shaftic 2 0-0 6, Gabby Schamder 4 2-3 13, Gabby DiDolce 0 0-0 0, Claire Kriebel 0 0-0 0, Gwen Siegel 3 0-0 6, Abby Gatesman 4 2-2 12, Trinity Thompson 3 1-1 7, Haley Sherman 0 11-15 11, Emily Aites 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 20-27 70.

THREE-POINTERS: Redbank Valley 6 (Hinderliter 3, Smith 3). North Clarion 10 (Bauer 3, Schamder 3, Shaftic 2, Gatesman 2).