Lady Lions catch fire in 2nd for victory
By Matt Michelone
For the Mirror
Thursday night’s Mid-Penn Conference matchup against Cumberland Valley for the Altoona girls basketball team started with a slow pace as the Lady Eagles were on fire from the field.
But, once the second quarter hit, the Lady Lions pushed the tempo and exploded for a 21-4 run which stretched for a little over a quarter-and-a-half on their way to a 69-38 triumph at the Altoona Fieldhouse.
Gracie Sines led the Lady Eagle offense as she as she came up with a steal and a layup for two of her seven points to give Cumberland Valley a 15-9 lead after one.
“He (Cumberland Valley coach William Wolf) slowed the game down,” Altoona coach Chris Fleegle said. “They ran some offenses where they were passing, eight, nine, 10 times, so we had to defend. You get fewer possessions. We did the same thing up at Butler (in the second half). We were up six at halftime, and then we put together a nice third quarter where we came out with a little more energy, and the ball was moving around a little bit better.”
In the second quarter, things started to change as Lanie Wilt cashed in with the and-1 to cut the deficit to 15-13. She finished the night with 11 points.
Raylin Eyer and Samantha Harpster both hit from downtown to give Altoona 24-18 lead at the break. Harpster finished with 10 points.
“There’s a fine line,” Fleegle said. “When they’re running offense for a little minute over at a time, you want to make sure that you’re not taking bad offensive possessions because there are so few in the quarter. We’re very lucky with the players that we have that they take good shots, take shots that they can make. They had to play catch up then.”
Coming out of the half Payton Beschore found her shooter’s touch for the Lady Eagles as she drew a bonus shot for the Eagles to cut the deficit to 32-25 with just over 3 minutes to play. She scored a team-high 10 points.
The Lady Lions, though, answered as Melana Eyer exploded as she scored six of her game-high 13 points. Nguyen-Moore and Brionna Hudson both added four apiece and Wilt added a 3-pointer as Altoona took a 43-28 lead after three.
“I thought all of it had to do with making shots or not making shots,” Wolf said. “First quarter we shot fairly well. But then, from that quarter on if you’re not making shots, it’s tough to maintain momentum. On the other hand they started really making shots, and it made it really difficult for us.”
Altoona’s scoring balance was on display in the fourth as they had three scorers depositing six points or more, including another bonus opportunity for Wilt, as the team outscored Cumberland Valley, 26-10, in the game’s final quarter — forcing the running clock with just about two minutes to play.
“You’re very rarely going to see a 20-plus scorer here,” Fleegle said. “We share the basketball, we have a bunch of players that can put the ball in the basket. I think they all deserve touches, they work hard on their game. We’re a big team on sharing the ball.”
It will be awhile before the Lady Lions enjoy home cooking again as they start a four-game road trip at Central Dauphin on Tuesday night.
CUMBERLAND VALLEY (38): Beschore 4 2-5 10, Hill 2 1-1 5, Manns 3 2-5 8, Sines 4 0-0 9, Warren 1 0-0 2, Moul 1 0-0 2, McIntire 1 0-0 2, Golaic 0 0-0 0, Seiders 0 0-0 0, New 0 0-0 0, Pugh 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 5-11 38.
ALTOONA (69): M. Eyer 4 5-6 13, Wilt 4 2-2 11, Nguyen-Moore 4 0-0 8, Harpster 3 2-2 10, Hudson 4 0-0 8, R. Eyer 2 0-0 6, Cogan 3 1-1 7, Beltz 3 0-0 6, Heyward 0 0-0 0, Stadtmiller 0 0-0 0. Totals: 27 10-11 69.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Cumberland Valley 15 3 10 10 – 38
Altoona 9 15 19 26 – 69
3-point field goals: Cumberland Valley 1 (Sines), Altoona 5 (Wilt, Harpster 2, R. Eyer 2)
Records: Cumberland Valley (4-6, 2-3 Mid-Penn Commonwealth), Altoona (9-2, 4-1 Mid-Penn Commonwealth).
Officials: Mike Andrews, Dave Heim, Curtis Miller.
JV: Altoona, 42-31. High scorers: Marrell Chambers, CV, 9; Eva Beck and Alannah Heyward, A, 12.