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Inspirational story sparks Altoona

Olivia Hudson gets into the lane past #23 Hannah Snyder

By Michael Boytim

mboytim@altoonamirror.com

The Altoona girls basketball team has been looking for a way to work freshman Elizah Wilson into its rotation.

Friday night against the Lady Lions’ rival Hollidaysburg, it all came together like a storybook when starting forward Bridgid Fox was unable to play.

The Lady Tigers carried an early lead into the second quarter and were out-rebounding Altoona, 15-7, before Wilson subbed in. She grabbed three quick rebounds and made a layup that helped turn the tide in an eventual 61-30 triumph at the Altoona Area High School Fieldhouse.

“We have been reading a book together as a team,” said Jordan Griffith, who filled in as Altoona’s coach with Miriam Colledge home sick. “It’s Urban Meyer’s book, and there’s a story in there we read this week that actually fit us well. We didn’t know this was going to happen, but it’s the story of Kenny Guiton. Starting quarterback Braxton Miller goes down, and for three and a half years, (Guiton) had been scout team, doing exactly what Braxton had been doing.

“We told our girls tonight, ‘that’s you guys’ and some people have to step up. We got huge minutes from Elizah Wilson, who hasn’t really played much for us this season, but she’s been following the seniors and taking their footsteps. She really got us going in the second quarter.”

Olivia Hudson fueled the Lady Lions’ offense most of the night by driving into the lane. The junior guard finished with a game-high 19 points.

“It was hard, because we didn’t have Bridgid here, one of our top rebounders,” Hudson said. “Hollidaysburg is really aggressive on the boards, so it was really important for us to go out and play hard from the start. We were a little frustrated with each other at first, because we had a starter out.”

Kayley Burke started for Fox and scored 11 points but got into some foul trouble. That’s when Wilson filled in admirably. She saw minutes in each of the final three quarters and finished with eight points and four rebounds.

“(Wilson) really stepped up,” Hudson said. “She had a lot of big rebounds for us. She’s going to play a really important part for us going deeper into the season, so this was really good for her.”

Caranda Perea made three 3-pointers in the final 8:25 after being held scoreless through most of three quarters. Jess Stevens added eight points. Hollidaysburg had 13 team rebounds, mostly due to Perea and Hudson’s constant shot blocks out of bounds.

“This team is starting to come together at the right time,” Griffith said. “This team loves each other right now. We are playing the game the right way. Shaina Lear was on a fastbreak and could have easily taken it up with her left hand and she chose to dish it off to Olivia Hudson. It’s those type of plays that build teams, and that’s what we’re striving for, unselfish basketball.”

Fox, who participated in warm-ups and sat on the bench during the game, is not expected to miss a significant amount of time.

The Lady Tigers got 14 points from Theresa Gildea in the game and led 8-7 after the first quarter.

“We came out of the gates pretty well,” Jubeck said. “We caught them a little off guard and hit our first couple shots. We had a little momentum.”

Jubeck said playing neck and neck with 15-2 Altoona early wasn’t surprising.

“These kids have a no-quit attitude, and that’s what’s important,” Jubeck said. “They’ll get back in the gym tomorrow. They’ll get better, and that’s all you can ask for.”

As for the Lady Lions, the coach of their chief rival had nothing but positive things to say.

“They are a tough team,” Jubeck said. “They are all tall, and they can all hit 3s. This is a team that’s going to go pretty far.”

HOLLIDAYSBURG (30): Bettwy 2 2-2 6, M. Gildea 1 0-2 2, Hurd 0 1-2 1, T. Gildea 5 0-0 14, McClain 0 0-2 0, Snyder 1 1-2 3, Bell 0 0-0 0, McGarvey 2 0-0 4, Smith 0 0-0 0, Hayes 0 0-0 0. Totals — 11 4-10 30.

ALTOONA (61): Lear 1 0-0 2, Stevens 3 0-0 8, Hudson 9 0-1 19, Perea 3 0-1 9, Burke 4 3-4 11, Wilson 3 1-1 8, Webber 1 1-2 3, Cherry 0 0-0 0, Rupert 0 2-2 2, Corbin 0 0-0 0. Totals — 24 7-11 61.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Hollidaysburg 8 5 7 10 — 30

Altoona 7 14 14 26 — 61

3-point goals: Hollidaysburg 4 (T. Gildea 4); Altoona 6 (Perea 3, Stevens 2, Hudson).

Records: Hollidaysburg (6-9); Altoona (15-2).

Officials: Ray Rotkowski, Shawn Sinclair, Randy Burkett

JV: .Altoona, 46-28. High scorers–Adalynn Cherry, A, 16; Morgan O’Neil, H, 17.

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