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Lady Lions pull away for rivalry win

HOLLIDAYSBURG — Hollidaysburg held up its side of its Blair County rivalry with Altoona by forcing more turnovers and outrebounding the Lady Lions.

The Lady Tigers even took a brief lead in the second quarter and kept the deficit in single digits through three quarters.

But Altoona’s size and talent finally took over when Caranda Perea nailed a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer of the third quarter that stretched the Lady Lions’ lead from six to nine in an eventual 50-39 triumph Tuesday night.

Theresa Gildea had just made a 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds to play in the quarter to keep Hollidaysburg close.

“Caranda Perea is probably one of the best players in the state of Pennsylvania,” Hollidaysburg coach Deanna Jubeck said. “We hit a big 3 to pull within two possessions, and she hit that 3-pointer at the buzzer and it was like she just took the wind out of our sails.”

Altoona opened the final quarter on a 9-0 run, riding the momentum of Perea’s 3-pointer, and put the game away.

“It definitely pumped us up,” said Olivia Hudson, who shared team-high scoring honors with Perea for Altoona with 12 points. “We can always count on Caranda to get the game moving for us.”

The Lady Lions improved to 12-1 while Hollidaysburg slipped to 3-6.

“This was a rivalry game, and the atmosphere was great,” Altoona coach Miriam Colledge said. “It was a playoff atmosphere against a hometown rival. It was close. It could have gone either way, and this is good adversity for us to face.”

Hollidaysburg played a slower pace and limited Altoona’s possessions.

“We have seen a lot of different looks from teams,” Colledge said. “We’re seeing a slow-down game. We’re seeing a run-and-gun game, and our kids are adapting. I think that’s a sign of a good team. A win is a win, and some nights it isn’t going to be pretty.”

The Lady Tigers’ McKenna Hurd led all scorers with 16 points, and Abby Bettwy had a game-high nine rebounds. Hollidaysburg outrebounded Altoona, 36-27, and forced 13 turnovers while turning it over just five times.

“Our kids are scrappy,” Jubeck said. “We thought if we could get some loose balls and get the 50-50 balls, it could be the difference in the game. Credit our kids for playing the entire 32 minutes.”

Perea made three of Altoona’s eight 3-pointers but had her leg taped up after the game. Colledge didn’t have an update on the sophomore, but she did finish the game.

Any injury to Altoona could be significant, because the Lady Lions main rotation includes just six players.

“We run the rotation that we do, and we are cognizant of the fact that an injury could happen at any time,” Colledge said. “Our younger group is coming along. If we needed to go to them, we would have full confidence in that.”

Though Hollidaysburg lost, Jubeck noticed continued improvement.

“If we show that bit of intensity throughout the remainder of our games, good things will happen,” Jubeck said. “We have proven what we are capable of doing, and from here we should not take backward steps.”

ALTOONA (50): Lear 2 4-4 8, Stevens 2 2-2 7, Hudson 4 2-3 12, Perea 4 1-1 12, Fox 3 0-2 7, Burke 1 0-0 3, Wilson 0 1-2 1, Cherry 0 0-0 0, Corbin 0 0-0 0, Webber 0 0-0 0, Rupert 0 0-0 0. Totals — 16 10-14 50.

HOLLIDAYSBURG (39): Bettwy 1 2-2 5, M. Gildea 3 1-4 7, Hurd 6 4-4 16, T. Gildea 3 0-0 8, McClain 0 1-2 1, McGarvey 0 0-0 0, Snyder 0 2-2 2. Totals — 13 10-14 39.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Altoona 13 10 15 12 — 50

Hollidaysburg 10 9 10 10 — 39

3-point goals: Altoona 8 (Perea 3, Hudson 2, Stevens, Burke, Fox); Hollidaysburg 3 (T. Gildea 2, Bettwy).

Records: Altoona (12-1); Hollidaysburg (3-6).

Officials: Tona Williams, John McDougal, Sarah Fye.

JV: Hollidaysburg, 48-46, OT. High scorers–Alyssa Bell/Hannah Snyder, H, 15 each; Adalynn Cherry, A, 14.

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