The Lady Eagles knew that Friday night’s match up against the Bellefonte Lady Raiders would be a challenge.  It was their first game without standout senior and second leading scorer Finnley Christine, who suffered a devastating season ending ACL tear in Wednesday’s win over Clearfield.

Stepping into Christine’s shoes was freshman Sydney Shaw, with her first career varsity start.

“Starting my first game was scary, but once the game started, it just felt like any other game,” said Shaw.

Rebounding and defense were a struggle for the Lady Eagles on the interior, as the game went back and forth for much of the first half.

Tyrone led 25-21 at halftime due to the work of Engle, Cannistraci, and Lehman.

“After a slow start we got things going in the second half. We need to rebound better and work harder at being strong with the ball,” said Tyrone Head Coach Luke Rhoades.

The Lady Eagles pulled ahead right out of the gate in the second half. Engle hit a three, expanding to a double-digit lead (33-23). Sydney Shaw hit a trey from the top and Engle added two baskets before the quarter was finished.

Engle hit two more three pointer in the fourth quarter and senior Maddie Noll hit one in the corner. Kasey Engle scored a game and season high 35 points while Alexis Cannistraci chipped in 12. Lehman, Noll, and Shaw all combined for nine.

Tyrone pulled out 56-43 victory, but it was clear that without Christine adjustments will need to be made in the coming weeks.

“I didn’t plan for my senior season to end like this. No one wants this,” said Christine, who is a four year starter and team leader.

“I hope the girls know I am their biggest fan,” added Christine, “I will be with them the whole way through. There is no one more proud of them than I am.”

The win improved Tyrone to 16-1 overall and 11-0 in the Mountain League.

The Lady Eagles will be back in action this afternoon as they host Central Mountain. JV starts at 2:00 and Varsity at 3:30.

Box Score

TYRONE (56): Engle 13 5-7 35, Christine 0 0-0 0, Cannistraci 2 8-8 12, Sprankle 0 0-0 0 Lehman 1 1-4 3, Shaw 1 0-0 3, Noll 1 0-0 3. Totals – 18 14-19 56.

BELLEFONTE (43): Young 2 0-0 4 McCartney 2 0-2 4, Book 11 3-6 25, Carr 1 0-0 2, Dunn 3 2-2 8. Totals – 19 5-10 43.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Tyrone                      13  12  15  16 – 56

Bellefonte                 12   9   7    15 – 43

3-point goals: Tyrone 6 (Engle 4, Noll, Shaw).

Records: Tyrone (16-1, 11-0 Mountain League), Bellefonte (5-12, 5-6 Mountain League).

Junior Varsity: Tyrone topped Bellefonte 39-28. Cherah Mountz led the Lady Eagles with 9. Sydney Shaw and Brooke Welsh both added 8.