Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Central Cambria's Alaina Long is pressured by Hollidaysburg's Kate Steiner.

By Ron Musselman

For The Mirror

HOLLIDAYSBURG — The Hollidaysburg girls basketball team has sprinted through the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference in its first two years, going 36-0 in the regular season.

But one thing missing from the Lady Tigers’ resume was a win in the conference playoffs.

A year after being upset in the LHAC semifinals at home by Forest Hills, Hollidaysburg punched its ticket to the championship game Thursday night with a 67-35 victory over Central Cambria.

Hollidaysburg will meet Bishop Guilfoyle, a 62-51 winner over Bishop McCort in the other semi, in Friday’s LHAC title game at Penn State Altoona.

“It’s really awesome making it to the championship game,” Lady Tigers junior Clare Padamonsky said. “We definitely didn’t want a repeat of last year. We felt like we had a lot more potential than we showed then.”

The top two seeds in the East Division sport matching 21-2 records. Hollidaysburg beat Bishop Guilfoyle 62-39 last month and has a 99-10 overall record since Feb. 25, 2021.

“When you’re playing for a conference championship, I think it increases the will to win a tad bit more,” Hollidaysburg coach Deanna Jubeck said.

Padamonsky, a 6-foot post player with a decided height advantage against Central Cambria’s smaller lineup, was one of four Lady Tigers in double figures. She tied senior guard Alissa Heim for game honors with 15 points. Senior guard Bella Vent finished with 14 points and junior forward Makenna Weimert added 12.

“When we’re balanced like that, it makes it very difficult on the opponent because they just can’t take one player out of the game,” Jubeck said. “They have to focus on everyone we put out there.

“I think right now our offense is coming together pretty good going into the playoffs. I think we’re in a pretty good spot.”

Heim scored 13 of her points in the first half and Padamonsky 11 as Hollidaysburg rebounded from early deficits of 3-0 and 9-8 against Central Cambria to grab a 37-23 halftime lead.

“I think we are doing a really good job of sharing the ball and also getting second-chance opportunities,” Padamonsky said.

Vent and Weimert each scored nine of their points in the second half as Hollidaysburg outscored Central Cambria 30-12 and forced a running clock in the final few minutes.

“Our defense always creates opportunities for our offense and when we’re playing well on both ends, we’re going to be a tough out going forward,” Jubeck said.

The 15-8 Lady Devils, who had been 6-2 since a 70-44 loss to the Lady Tigers on Jan. 17, were led by senior guard Abigail Sheehan’s nine points.

Padamonsky had 16 points in that earlier meeting for Hollidaysburg while Heim contributed 13.

“Hollidaysburg is a great team,” said Central Cambria coach Brittany Bracken, whose team was the No. 2 seed in the West Division. “You can tell they are used to winning. I think that they make very few mistakes, offensively and defensively. They’re just a very competitive team.

“I was proud of our girls and how they came out. I thought we started the game with a spark and then Hollidaysburg settled in and did what Hollidaysburg does.”

CENTRAL CAMBRIA (35): Al. Sheehan 1 1-2 4, Ab. Sheehan 3 3-4 9, Barra 1 0-0 2, A. Ruddek 2 2-2 6, Long 2 3-4 9, Link 0 0-0 0, George 1 1-1 3, R. Ruddek 1 0-2 2. Totals — 11 10-15 35.

HOLLIDAYSBURG (67): Heim 7 1-2 15, Stevenson 1 0-0 3, Vent 6 1-4 14, Padamonsky 7 0-0 15, Weimert 4 4-7 12, Lightner 1 0-2 2, Sidney 2 0-0 6, Lear 0 0 0-0 0, Bailey 0 0-0 0, Steiner 0 0-0 0. Totals — 28 6-15 67.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central Cambria 10 13 8 4 — 35

Hollidaysburg 16 21 18 12 — 67

3-point goals: Central Cambria 3 (Long 2, Al. Sheehan); Hollidaysburg 5 (Sidney 2, Vent, Stevenson, Padamonsky).

Records: Central Cambria (15-8); Hollidaysburg (21-2).

Officials: Damon Rickens, Sean Albright, Kevin Laird.