BG Gold girls win Building II title on one busy night

Building II hoops

Both Bishop Guilfoyle Academy Gold and Karpro Tire & Auto Center -- an Altoona junior high girls basketball team entry -- had to manage a doubleheader as part of the Building II Girls Basketball League playoffs Wednesday night before meeting in its championship -- on the same night.

Karpro, in fact, beat Tom Dickey Law -- which features members of the Altoona girls varsity team -- in the semifinal. BG Gold, meanwhile, had to follow that up with a 10-point win over Huntingdon before a quick turnaround to the title game.

That turnaround was handled well as the sister act of Bella and Makayla Bianconi powered BG Gold as it won the title, 37-31, over Karpro.

"I think the juniors and the seniors that were on the floor tonight, they're blending really well with the younger kids," BG Gold coach Kristin Baer said. "The freshmen when they come in, they're pretty excited to be a part of it. Their energy has been really great, and I think that's helped them gel really well with the older kids."

After both sides struggled offensively for much of the first half, the Bianconi's helped break the game open as Bella drained a layup for two of her game-high 16 points. Makayla knocked down a 3-pointer and added a jumper to help give BG a 21-13 lead at the half.

Karpro coach Chris Fleegle was proud of how the future of his program showed having to play two games on a close timeline.

"This group has had a very successful summer," he said. "They like to compete. I think they got a little tired, it was hard to score -- credit BG's defense -- in that second game. This is a group that works really, really hard. They put the time in in the gym and it shows. They're able to compete with some teams that they shouldn't be competing with."

Karpro did manage to cut into the deficit early in the second half, as Alyssa Douglas, on a fast break, helped cut the deficit down to 21-17. She finished with 11 points.

Bella Bianconi thwarted those comeback efforts, picking up an and-1 opportunity. Makayla Bianconi later added one from downtown to help stretch the advantage to 30-18.

"Our practices are so competitive," Baer said. "There's a lot of talent within our program because of that super senior group that you don't always get to see. We're building and there are pieces there that are ready to fill in."

Despite not winning a league championship, Fleegle has enjoyed seeing the progress being made by his potential future varsity players.

"They've spent most of the summer at open gyms," Fleegle said. "The group that we have at the high school level, the incoming kids that no one saw last year get minutes, they're having a fantastic summer. They're super athletic, and with this group coming along the way, all I can say is practices should be the most fun they've been since my time at Altoona."

Baer shares the same level of excitement for Bishop Guilfoyle's future.

"From the last I've heard, we have 28 girls in our junior high program," she said. "That's something that in the summer league some of the coaches from other programs have come by our bench and been like 'wow, I'd love to have all those numbers'. We don't take that for granted."

BISHOP GUILFOYLE GOLD (37): M. Bianconi 7 1-2 16, Wilson 0 0-0 0, Nachtman 1 0-2 2, Barr 1 0-0 3, B. Bianconi 3 1-2 9, Miller 0 1-4 0, Ianuzzi 2 0-1 5, Ronan. Totals: 14 3-11 37.

KARPRO (31): Cooper 0 0-6 0, Douglas 3 5-8 11, Bailey 2 0-0 4, Dunio 4 1-5 9, Chirdon 3 0-0 7, Ringnall 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 6-19 31.

Halftime: BG Gold, 21-13. 3-point field goals: Bishop Guilfoyle Gold 3 (Barr, M. Bianconi, B. Bianconi), Karpro 1 (Chirdon).