Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Beard Legal Group (Altoona)'s Samantha Harpster gets by Wolford Gearhart's Moving & Storage (BG)'s Morgan Ruggery.

HOLLIDAYSBURG — Altoona’s Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore will be a four-year starter when the calendar turns to December later this year. She’s played with many great former and current Lady Lions, but has never been the go-to scorer for Chris Fleegle’s squad.

Thursday night may have changed that narrative as Nguyen-Moore scored 21 points for Beard Legal Group (Altoona) as it held off Wolford’s Gearhart Moving & Storage (Bishop Guilfoyle), 46-43, to take their fourth straight championship in the high school girls division of the Blair Regional YMCA summer league.

“She is a fantastic basketball player, and one of the most unselfish players you’ll ever see play,” Fleegle said. “The last couple years, we had a lot around her. She did the stuff that doesn’t show up in a box score — the rebounds, the assists, defending the other team’s best players. Now she needs to take on the role of giving us more offensive production.”

“I always give my flowers to my teammates,” Nguyen-Moore said. “Last year Melana (Eyer) and Lanie (Wilt) were both with us. They were both really skillful guards. This year going into the one (point guard) position, my teammates help me a lot. They have a lot of confidence in me when I score, and a lot of trust in that if they’re open, I’ll hit them.”

Wolford’s trailed by 11 at halftime and by as many as 13 points in the game, but quickly got themselves back into it in the first five minutes of the second half, although they never got the lead back or tied it.

BG trailed by one point and was at the foul line with 10 seconds remaining in the game, but missed the free throw, and Altoona held on to win.

“I felt that in the first half we were just really flat, and they just didn’t have a lot of energy,” Wolford’s coach Kristi Kaack said. “With this group, I’m not used to seeing that. We challenged them at halftime to come out and play with a little fire, and I was really impressed with the way they chipped away and got back into the game.”

Nguyen-Moore scored 12 of her 21 points in the first half, while Samantha Harpster pitched in a couple of three-pointers.

Nguyen-Moore’s three-point play with 1:04 remaining gave Altoona a 43-39 lead, but BG’s Mary Haigh splashed a three-pointer to put it back within a point with 41 seconds left.

After a Brionna Hudson free throw gave Beard a two-point lead, Wolford’s was called for a travel.

After a pair of missed free throws, BG’s Morgan Ruggery hit the front end of a pair of free throws before fouling out after a miss.

Nguyen-Moore hit a pair at the line to make it 46-43.

In one last attempt needing a three-pointer, BG was called for a carry at the end of the game.

“You can bend, just don’t break,” Fleegle said. “We were bending, but we never broke. They never gave up the lead.”

“I have a lot of respect for what Coach Fleegle does with his kids,” Kaack said. “They’re always prepared. They play at a very high level. Any chance we get to play them is a great opportunity.”

Gia Adams led Wolford’s with 12 points on four three-pointers, while Layona Williams added nine.

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (43): Williams 2 4-4 9, Adams 4 0-0 12, Ruggery 2 3-4 7, Petrecca 1 0-0 2, Haigh 2 0-0 6, Homan 3 0-0 7, Hite 0 0-0 0, Bianconi 0 0-0 0. Totals — 14 7-8 43.

ALTOONA (46): Harpster 2 0-0 6, Cogan 1 5-5 7, Eyer 1 0-0 3, Nguyen-Moore 8 3-5 21, Hudson 1 5-8 7, Harzbecker 1 0-0 2. Totals — 14 13-18 46.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bishop Guilfoyle 20 23 — 43

Altoona 31 15 — 46

3-point goals: Bishop Guilfoyle 8 (Williams, Adams 4, Haigh 2, Homan); Altoona 5 (Harpster 2, Eyer, Nguyen-Moore 2).