Trending
HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Not much has changed since the Hollidaysburg girls basketball team left the Mountain League to join the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference this season.
The Lady Tigers still are a dominant team.
Junior guard Bella Vent scored 17 of her game-high 19 points in the first half Friday night, and 6-foot sophomore post player Clare Padamonsky came off the bench and netted 13 of her 15 points in the second half as Hollidaysburg cruised to a 64-29 LHAC East Division victory over Clearfield.
Vent added eight assists and Padamonsky pulled down 10 rebounds as the Lady Tigers remained unbeaten (6-0, 5-0 LHAC East) while capturing their 20th consecutive home win.
Hollidaysburg also improved its overall record to 61-4 since Feb. 13, 2021. Three of the losses during that stretch occurred in PIAA playoff games and the other was a home regular-season loss to Tyrone in 2022.
"You have to take your hat off to the kids who put the time and effort into anything we ask of them day in and day out, whether we're here at practice or playing a game," Hollidaysburg coach Deanna Jubeck said.
"We have to play our schedule, and the teams that are on our schedule. And we have to keep working hard in order to keep winning games."
Vent scored the first 13 points of the game for the Lady Tigers, who never trailed. She converted three layups, a short jumper and sank a 3-point shot from the corner while adding two free throws to give Hollidaysburg a 13-7 lead.
"I just tried to do my thing and start off strong," Vent said. "I just kept pushing the ball into the hoop. It seemed like they were double-teaming Lauren (Stevenson) and somebody was always open. It also opened things up for me."
Vent added two more layups late in the second quarter as the Lady Tigers pushed that lead to 30-13 at halftime against Clearfield (4-4, 2-3 LHAC East).
"Bella just has an extra light under her," Jubeck said. "She's a very athletic kid. You can't teach athleticism."
Padamonsky had five points in the third quarter when the running clock started and eight of her team's 10 in the fourth.
"There are a lot of seniors who play ahead of me that also have a lot of talent and I just try to come in and do my job when it's necessary," Padamonsky said. "I try to be a spark off the bench. I like to get in there and be aggressive."
Jubeck credited Isabella Yohn, Samantha Shoemaker and Padamonsky for playing solid defense.
"All three of our big players are doing a really good job of protecting the paint and making it hard for others to not get easy baskets around the rim," Jubeck said.
Freshman Sonny Diehl led Clearfield with 11 points and sophomore Makenna Weimert added nine for Hollidaysburg, which has outscored its first six opponents 344-166.
"It was a good win," Vent said. "We get some time off now, we get to enjoy Christmas and then we have to come back strong. The goal is to go undefeated, win the Laurel Highlands and go farther than we did last year."
Hollidaysburg returns to action at 4 p.m. Thursday when it hosts Johnstown in the Restore the Roar Classic.
CLEARFIELD (29): Diehl 5 1-6 11, Glunt 2 0-0 6, Winters 3 0-2 6, Walker 0 1-2 1, Helsel 0 5-6 5, Hudson 0 0-0 0. Totals - 10 7-16 29.
HOLLIDAYSBURG (64): DiPangrazio 3 0-0 7, Shoemaker 3 1-1 7, Yohn 2 0-0 4, Stevenson 0 3-4 3, Vent 8 2-2 19, Lear 0 0-2 0, Padamonsky 6 3-4 15, Weimert 3 3-4 9, Steiner 0 0-0 0, Gearhart 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 25 12-17 64.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Clearfield 7 6 8 8 - 29
Hollidaysburg 15 15 24 10 - 64
3-point field goals: Clearfield 2 (Glunt 2), Hollidaysburg 2 (Vent, DiPangrazio).
Records: Clearfield (4-4, 2-3 LHAC East), Hollidaysburg (6-0, 5-0 LHAC East).
Officials: Randy Burkett, Jarod Burkett, John McDougal.
JV: Hollidaysburg, 35-22. High scorers--Steiner H, 17, Lear, H, 10.