The girls varsity basketball team opened their 2013-14 season with a bang on Wednesday, December 11.

Tyrone hosted the Bellefonte Lady Red Raiders at the Middle School gym, and all of the Golden Eagles seemed focused and prepared for the game ahead of them.  Head Coach Luke Rhoades started Kasey Engle (#14), freshman; Jordyn Swogger (#22), senior; Emily Iuzzolino (#23), senior; Finnley Christine (#30), sophomore; and Lindsey Kemp (#11), junior.

The game began with a great start in all areas from Tyrone. Engle scored 6, Iuzzolino with 2, Swogger with 6, and Christine with 7. Although the team racked up some points, fouls were abundant for Tyrone. The period ended with four total fouls: two from Lucy Raftery (#20), senior, one from Kemp, and one from Swogger. Iuzzolino was the dominant rebounder, and the score ended at 21-12 for the first period, in Tyrone’s favor.

When the second quarter started, the girls showed obvious signs of a lack to their drive they showed in the first quarter. However, Bellefonte gained almost no points, and Tyrone still had control of the boards. Engle had 3 additional points, while Swogger gained 7 more. Christine scored 5. Iuzzolino, again, was the leading rebounder. Fouls were not as prominent in the second half. Raftery gained another, and Engle picked up two. Halftime started with Tyrone winning, 38-14.

Bellefonte picked up their game a bit more at the arrival of period three. Christine and Iuzzolino rebounded proficiently. Raftery swished a 3-pointer, while Swogger picked up another 8 points. Christine drilled yet another 3, and Maddie Noll (#34), sophomore, was subbed in and advanced with 5 points during the game. Fouling included two from Iuzzolino, one from Swogger, and one from Kemp. Tyrone lead, 57-26.

The final period began with Bellefonte still trailing . Engle gained 3 points and Iuzzolino picked up another 4 points in addition to her previous 2 in the first quarter. Christine and Lexi Cannistraci (#21), freshman, gained 2 points after subbing in. The team’s high spirits pushed them even further to continue scoring on the Raiders until the final buzzer.

The game ended in Tyrone’s favor, 68-44.

Both girls junior high teams and the girls JV team also won earlier on Wednesday.

Varsity plays next on Wednesday, December 18 against the Huntingdon Lady Bearcats at Huntingdon. JV starts at 6:00, followed after by varsity at 7:00.