CLARION, Pa. – With the KSAC title game hanging in the balance, Redbank Valley sophomore Addy Bond took over.
With the game tied at 28 early in the fourth quarter. Bond scored the first nine points of a game-deciding 17-2 run that gave the Lady Bulldogs their third straight conference crown with a 45-30 win over Karns City.
Bond gave Redbank Valley the lead for good, 31-28, with a 3-pointer 37 seconds into the quarter before scoring an old-school 3-pointer followed by another long-range bomb, this one with 2:51 to go, that made the score 37-30.
“When it is super tight, you have to be smart,” Bond said. “You have to make those smart passes, those smart looks. You also have to have that confidence in yourself and your team. I knew if I missed the shot, my team would be there to back me up. I knew maybe Izzy (Bond) and Kira (Bonnano) could get the rebound.”
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Addy Bond’s first three of the run broke a span of 13:23 without a basket for Redbank Valley.
“She’s been doing that all year long,” Redbank Valley head coach Chris Edmonds said. “She has really stepped up. Her and Miley (Harmon) are starting to play well together, which is good for us.”
After Bond hit a 3-pointer with 4:46 left in the first half to give the Lady Bulldogs a 22-10 lead, the next six Redbank Valley points came from the free-throw line, including all five in the third quarter.
That allowed Karns City to go on an 18-6 run to tie the game at 28 when Brooklynn Taylor hit two of three free throws 11 seconds into the fourth quarter after being fouled taking a 3-point shot.
After Bond answered with her three that gave Redbank Valley the lead for good, Naomi Venseky scored Karns City’s last basket of the game on an offensive rebound with 6:35 to play to get the Lady Gremlins within a point, 31-30.
But the old-school Bond three followed by her second 3-pointer of the game all but put the game away.
Mylee Harmon then sealed the victory at the free-throw line going 6 of 8 in the final 2:09, as she shot 14 of 16 from the line in the game.
Redbank Valley senior Izzy Bond receives the KSAC trophy from Redbank Valley principal Roddy Hartle. Photo by Mike Maslar
Redbank Valley took control of the game early using a 15-0 run at the end of the first quarter to take a 19-6 lead after eight minutes.
But the offense went dry after that, as Karns City packed the paint and dared the Lady Bulldogs to shoot from the outside.
“They were packing the paint,” Edmonds said. “We just couldn’t find an offense that could set us up to attack the middle. Instead, we were taking a couple of jump shots, and that isn’t the best shot.”
That Karns City strategy worked until got hot late to give Redbank Valley its third straight KSAC crown.
Thanks to her free-throw shooting, Harmon led all scorers with 21 points while Addy Bond had 17.
Savanna Precott paced Karns City with 12 points with Taylor adding 10.
Both teams are in the District 9 title games in their classifications.
Redbank Valley will face the winner of the Moniteau/Coudersport semifinal game in Class 2A and Karns City will face the winner of the Kane/Brookville semifinal game in Class 3A. Both of those games are on Saturday, March 2.
