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By Stephen Flinn
For the Mirror
PITTSBURGH -- If the Hollidaysburg girls basketball team had not been shut out in the first quarter, it might have been a different result Tuesday night at Pittsburgh City League champion Obama Academy in the PIAA Girls District 6-8-9 5A regional qualifier.
Even after the slow start though, the Lady Tigers never gave up, and made a mad dash in the second half before losing, 48-44.
"We missed a couple open layups and some jump shots in the first half and we started to tense up a little bit. We put a couple of those in, it's a whole different ballgame," Hollidaysburg coach Deanna Jubeck said. "When the going was tough in the start of the game, we played through it. We continued to play hard but just fell a minute short."
Both teams started out slow on offense. Nobody scored until midway through the first quarter when Michaela Porter hit two free throws for a 2-0 Obama lead.
The Lady Tigers' scrappy zone defense continued to bother the Eagles throughout the first quarter. The first field goal of the game was not scored until 1:30 left in the first after Taylin Taylor hit a short jumper for a 4-0 lead.
Ashley Harris hit a layup in the final minutes for a 6-0. The Lady Tigers held their own on defense by getting rebounds and loose balls but were held scoreless in the quarter.
"That's been us. We really focus a lot on defense," Jubeck said. "We feel if we can be scrappy and force teams into turnovers, we would be playing our style of basketball."
The Lady Tigers fell behind by double digits midway through the second quarter as they stayed cold from the floor. The Eagles padded their lead, fueled by two 3-pointers for a 16-0 lead.
Hollidaysburg was relying too much on its jump shots in the first half. Jubeck then instructed her players to get to the rim more and her strategy paid off.
"We were relying too much on the 15 and 17-foot jumpers and [Obama] was leaving the middle open," Jubeck said. "I knew we had to get to the basket."
McKenna Hurd drove to the hoop and hit a layup with three minutes left in the second quarter to give the Tigers their first points of the game. She did the same with 40 seconds left to shorten Obama's lead to 16-4, but Porter hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds for a 19-4 halftime lead.
"Our game plan was to pack it inside, hold them off the boards and fight for rebounds, then try to get out in transition," Jubeck said. "That's what we did in the second half."
Hollidaysburg looked like a different team after the break. Jubeck credited the response as a combination of making adjustments and the players regaining their confidence, once they started making some shots.
"We just had to get our confidence back in ourselves and once we did that, we had energy and enthusiasm," Jubeck said. "Once we hit a couple shots, it changed the whole basketball game."
The Lady Tigers found their rhythm on offense in the third quarter and exploded for 16 points, fueled by continued pressure on defense, a defense which held the Eagles to 10 points. Hurd scored five points in the third, and Theresa Gildea hit two 3-pointers and the Tigers cut Obama's lead to single digits at 29-20.
Hollidaysburg continued putting on the pressure on both sides of the court in the fourth quarter, and cut the lead to six points with only 35 seconds remaining, fueled by Gildea's two 3-pointers and Hurds' five points. However, Hurd fouled out with three minutes left.
Obama forced two turnovers in the final seconds to stop the Tigers' comeback and help ice the win. Porter led the Eagles with 19 points.
Hurd led the Tigers with 14 points and Gildea added 13. Both return next season as Hurd is a junior and Gildea is a sophomore.
"McKenna and Theresa are our go-to [players]. They're our energy. They practice hard every day and they bring our energy and enthusiasm to a different level," Jubeck said. "They bring leadership on the court. They're both two-year starters. This will be a good experience for them moving forward."
Even though this ends the season for the Lady Tigers at 7-15, Jubeck felt the they gave it their all this year.
"I think no matter what, these kids were fighters," Jubeck said. "I'd like to thank the seniors for all the hard work they put in from elementary basketball on up. All our kids put in a lot of hard work and determination. This season was long and they all stuck with it each and every day."
HOLLIDAYSBURG (44) Hurd 6 2-4 14, Gildea 4 0-1 13, Parisi 3 0-0 7, Hileman 3 1-2 7, McClain 1 0-0 2, Bettwy 0 1-2 1. Totals: 17 4-9 44.
OBAMA ACADEMY (48) Porter 6 5-7 19, Tyler 4 3-4 11, Harris 4 0-0 9, Stewart 2 0-2, 4, Keaton 1 0-0 2, Jones 1 1-4 3. Totals: 18 9-18 48.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Hollidaysburg …………………………. 0 4 16 24 - 44 Obama Academy……………………..6 13 10 19 - 48
3-point goals: Hollidaysburg 3 (Gildea 2, Parisi); Obama Academy 3 (Porter 2, Harris).
Records: Hollidaysburg (7-15); Obama Academy (19-8)
Officials: Tamieka Howard, Jennifer Scott, Jim Hastings