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Juniata falls to Halifax in TVL title

HERNDON — All season, the Juniata High School girls’ basketball team had been rolling through the Tri-Valley League, using a strong offensive attack and suffocating defense on its way to a perfect conference record.

The Indians (21-2, 14-1 Tri-Valley League) struggled to sink shots, and big nights by Melody Davis and Brianna Turner of Halifax (21-3, 13-1 Tri-Valley League) were enough for the Wildcats to claim the league title, 44-29.

“In the first half they got some extra opportunities because we were not containing the dribble out front,” Juniata coach Kevin Kodish said. “When someone stepped out to help they got a lot of chances inside. Davis hangs out by the blocks a lot and she was able to get opportunities and score inside and she hurt us on the offensive boards as well.”

For the Indians, Josie Swartz and Grace Brosius played valiantly to try to keep Juniata in the game, but an 11-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter was too much for the Indians to overcome.

“None of our shots were falling,” Kodish said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if our shooting percentage was around 15. We had eight field goals in the game, and went 13-of-19 at the line for 29 points.”

Kodish also acknowledged that his defense stepped up, despite the shots not falling. The Indians also outrebounded Halifax 37-32.

“I’m not disappointed in the defense at all,” Kodish said. “We fouled them a lot at the end to stop the clock but if we didn’t foul we would have held them to 30 points. You can’t win games when you only score 29 points.”

In the game’s opening minutes, both teams struggled to find a basket. Strong pressure by Juniata forced Halifax into multiple turnovers, before the Wildcats scored their first basket with 5:45 remaining in the opening quarter.

Davis found her stride early, scoring six points in the opening frame. Brosius stuck with Davis offensively, scoring four points in the quarter.

In the second quarter, Halifax started to pull away, outscoring Juniata 11-6. Going into the locker room Halifax led 21-14. Juniata ran into foul trouble early in the half with Chloe Zendt spending most of the second quarter on the bench after picking up two early fouls.

In the third quarter, the Indians went ice cold from the field. Juniata scored just six points in the quarter from the field, and Halifax started to pad its lead. Turner found her stroke and scored six points in the quarter, and the Wildcats led by 11 by the end of the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Juniata was stellar at getting to the free-throw line, but were unable to cut into the Wildcat lead. As a team, Juniata scored seven points at the line in the quarter but were unable to hit from the floor. Halifax pushed its lead to as much as 14 before coming away with the win.

Davis and Turner led the way for Halifax, as Davis scored 13 points and pulled in 13 rebounds, while Turner pulled in 13 rebounds and scored 11 points.

For Juniata, Swartz led the way with 10 points, six rebounds, four steals and had two assists. Brosius fell just short of a double-double with 10 rebounds and eight points.

For Juniata, the loss is just its second of the season. The team is setting its sights on regrouping for the start of the District playoffs.

“We told them we want to reset over the weekend here for Monday,” Kodish said. “We have a game on Monday and it’s going to be a home game and the boys will be with us. Hopefully we can get back on our court in the white uniforms and rally around ourselves and get back.”

The Indians will face the winner of the Philipsburg-Osceola and Everett matchup at Juniata High School Monday.

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