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Email: "Central PA survives snafu in easy win"
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LORETTO — Northern Cambria’s Brittany Sedlock and the Central PA girls all-star team didn’t make many mistakes during their 90-56 victory Friday in the third annual Mirror Classic at DeGol Arena.

Except that is, in pregame introductions.

Sedlock, who mistakenly came onto the court early in introductions against Bishop McCort in the PIAA Class AA state semifinals, once again jumped the gun Friday when the absent Jen Valeria’s name was announced before hers.

“They said Northern Cambria, and since I was the only one from Northern Cambria on the bench I thought it was me,î Sedlock said. “That was embarrassing, but I was just excited to get out there.”

Once Sedlock and her teammates actually made it on the court, just about nothing went wrong.

Central PA scored the first six points and shot 71.4 percent (10-14) in the first quarter while outscoring Blair County, 23-11.

Altoona’s Ashley Waddell, who was named Blair’s MVP, helped Blair County stay in the game, scoring nine of her team’s 11 points. Waddell finished with a game-high 18 points.

Central PA continued to pull away, never trailing, behind strong performances from Conemaugh Township’s Megan Maurer, who led her team with 13 points, and Central PA MVP Emily Suhey, from State College, who compiled eight points and team-highs with nine rebounds and six assists.

Suhey’s six assists were part of a 23-9 assist advantage for Central PA, which had nine players with at least one on a team with only two practices under its belt.

’’We all came in a little awkward, a little shy, but then we picked up chemistry and played well together,î Suhey said.

Another thing working in Central PA’s favor was a roster that included eight players that participated in this year’s state playoffs. Blair County had only three, Bishop Guilfoyle’s Chelsey Neugebauer, Kaylee Keagy and Christine Conrad.

’’We’re just coming off playing high-level games,î Sedlock said. ’’It’s only been a week or two for some of us, so that was definitely a factor in the game’s outcome.î

Central PA’s rebounding advantage was nearly as lopsided as the score, with Blair County suffering a 51-25 disadvantage.

’’We didn’t shoot the ball well, especially early,î Blair County coach Vernon Neil said. ’’Momentum is a nasty thing to try and stop once it gets going, and they were better than we were tonight. They beat us rebounding, beat us up the court, they got the loose balls, and they were just pretty good.î

Central PA’s victory gave the regional girls a 2-1 advantage in the three-year history of the Mirror Classic.

CENTRAL PA (90): Sedlock 4 2-2 11, Guth 3 0-0 6, Basile 2 0-0 4, Skyles 4 0-0 12, Suhey 4 0-0 8, McCaffrey 3 0-0 7, Gennett 1 2-4 4, Moore 4-7 2-2 10, Blankenship 3 4-6 10, Proper 1 2-2 5, Maurer 5 3-3 13. Totals — 34 15-19 90.

BLAIR COUNTY (56): Iachini 0 2-2 2, Ottaway 4 0-2 8, Nardozza 1 0-0 2, Hinton 0 0-0 0, Conrad 0 0-2 0, Trimarco 2 0-2 4, Peck 0 0-0 0, Neugebauer 0 2-4 2, Keagy 3 1-1 7, Griffith 3 3-3 10, Waddell 6 4-5 18, Reilly 1 1-1 3. Totals — 20 13-22 56.

Score by quarters

Central PA 23 16 27 24 — 90

Blair County 11 5 22 18 — 56

Three-point goals: Central PA 7 (Skyles 4, Sedlock, McCaffrey, Proper); Blair County 3 (Waddell 2, Griffith 1).

Officials: Gary Zimmerman, Mike Andrews, Dick Fisher.

 

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