CLARION — It was the kind of start the A-C Valley girls basketball team wanted.

The finish? Not so much.

The Falcons scored seven quick points in the first 90 seconds and led 10-2 late in the first quarter. But they couldn't hold that momentum in a 54-49 loss to North Clarion Friday night in the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference championship game at Tippin Gym on the campus of Clarion University.

“We sort of jumped them a little bit,” said A-C Valley coach Dave Sherman. “I don't think they were ready for that. We got some offense out of our defense and shooting in rhythm and getting some good looks and knocking them down and I thought, 'Here we go.'”

But North Clarion (23-0) settled down. Falling behind has been a recent trend for the Wolves as of late.

“Well, the last six or seven games I think we've spotted teams eight or nine points to start the game,” said North Clarion coach Terry Dreihaup. “They never give up. They have an attitude that they refuse to lose. They don't panic.”

A-C Valley (18-5) didn't either when it fell behind by one at the half despite leading 19-11 midway through the second quarter 19-11.

The Falcons trailed by as many as nine in the third quarter before charging back to within a basket six times.

But they could never get the lead.

“I was hoping we would be able to pull it off,” Sherman said. “We just couldn't get over that hump.”

Annie Viertel was a big part of that early A-C Valley surge, scoring five points in the first minutes.

Ellie Thompson added eight in the first quarter and ended with a team-high 19.

But North Clarion's size was an issue and their zone was difficult for the Falcons to slice through.

“I knew they were going to sit in zone,” Sherman said. “That's what they did last time. I would love to see them come out and play us man, but they won't and I wouldn't, either. Very few teams have played us man this year.”

That's because of the Falcons' speed.

Guard Cami McNany scored 12 points and found cracks in that zone.

“Cam's really been stepping up her game. I told her that just because they're playing zone doesn't mean you can't penetrate,” Sherman said. “She can beat a lot of girls off the bounce and she's been taking that to heart.”

A-C Valley had possession twice late with a chance to tie or take the lead, but a costly turnovers ended both possessions.

Then Tori Obenrader took over.

The senior forward scored nine of her game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter, including a big 3-pointer, and was 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

She also went over 2,000 points in her career and was the game's MVP.

For A-C Valley, just getting to the championship game was an accomplishment for a program that has had just three winning seasons since 1995.

And they still have the District 9 Class A tournament to play.

“We've already done some things that nobody else in our school has ever done just by being here,” Sherman said. “Not that you want to hang your hat on that — obviously we wanted to win this game in a bad way — but we just came out on the short end of it today.”

A-C VALLEY 49

Cami McNany 4-10 3-4 12, Ellie Thompson 9-17 1-2 19, Annie Viertel 2-8 0-0 5, Brooke Irwin 0-4 0-0 0, Kylee Eaton 3-6 1-1 7, Allison Sherman 3-7 0-0 6, Emma Fox 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-52 5-7 49.

NORTH CLARION 54

Gabby Schmader 1-4 3-4 6, Gabby Carll 0-3 0-0 0, Abby Gatesman 5-11 0-2 12, Tori Obenrader 8-19 7-7 24, Haley Sherman 2-2 4-7 8, Mackenzie Bauer 1-5 0-0 2, Cierah Manross 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 18-47 14-20 54.

A-C Valley 14 12 8 15 — 49

North Clarion9 18 12 15 — 54

3-point goals: McNany, Viertel; Schmader, Gatesman 2, Obenrader