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By Jamie Eichenlaub
For the Mirror
Melana Eyer played a big part in setting the tone early in the second, third and fourth quarters Wednesday night for the Altoona Lady Lions.
The junior guard made key plays at the beginning of each of the last three quarters and scored a game-high 20 points as the Lady Lions weathered a bumpy finish to outlast Williamsport, 48-42, in a non-conference game Wednesday at the Altoona Area High School Fieldhouse.
"We have a pretty tough schedule and every game is a battle for us," said Eyer, who scored six points early in the second quarter and five points early in the third. "Sometimes if we're not playing our best on defense we just need a little spark to get us going. I felt like if I hit my shots that could get us going."
Eyer hit a pair of 3-pointers to help Altoona build a 12-point lead (18-6) early in the second quarter, and shortly after halftime added a corner 3-pointer and a layup to stretch a four-point lead to nine (31-22 ) early in the third quarter. She drilled her fifth 3-pointer of the game less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, giving Altoona a 10-point edge (42-32).
"We've got some really hard-working kids on our team and she's definitely one of them," Altoona coach Chris Fleegle said of Eyer. "She's starting to see the ball go through the net the last couple of games. She's getting a lot of confidence, and when Melana plays with confidence, the rim gets bigger for her and you could see that tonight. Every time we needed a basket it seemed like she made a good shot for us."
After a see-saw start to the season -- going 2-3 early -- Altoona has won nine straight games to run its record to 11-3 overall.
Williamsport coach Justin Marnon, who saw his team fall to 6-6, felt that Eyer made some key plays to help Altoona.
"Good players just rise to the occasion in games like that and I think that's what she did, especially a couple of times in the second half," Marnon said.
Altoona got off to a strong start, taking a 12-4 advantage after one quarter. All five starters scored in the opening quarter. Williamsport, however, responded and keep the game close the rest of the way.
After Altoona took an 18-6 lead early in the second, Williamsport went on a 6-0 run to slice the lead to 18-12 with 4:34 left. Altoona built its cushion back to double digits (24-14) with 2:57 left, but the Lady Millionaires kept chipping away. Nadirah Tutler, who scored eight points in the second quarter, converted a pair of layups, and Payton Baney turned a steal into a layup just before halftime as Williamsport trailed, 26-20.
"Tutler has progressed so much," Marnon said of the 5-foot-10 junior forward. "She's very athletic. I don't think she quite understands how good she can be yet. With her combination with Payton Baney inside, they're a tough 1-2 punch."
The two teams played even the rest of the way. Both scored 10 points in the third quarter and 12 points in the fourth.
Williamsport trimmed the Altoona lead to three points, 33-30, on a Baney layup with 3:36 left in the third quarter. Melana Eyer responded with a 3-pointer to stretch the Altoona lead to six points, 36-30, with 3:36 left.
The Lady Millionaires did not get any closer the rest of the way.
Altoona had its share of struggles on the free throw line, going just 2-of-12 for the game and missed five out of six tries in the last five minutes of the game.
"I guess we need to shoot some more free throws at practice," Fleegle said. "Typically we're a 70 percent shooting free throw team. I think it just all came down to how we closed out, with missed free throws and turnovers, but we did get a couple of stops at the end and with this schedule a win is a win."
Altoona did do plenty of damage from beyond the arc, making 10 3-pointers for the game. Melana Eyer drilled five, while Raylin Eyer and Samantha Harpster each made two, and Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore had one.
"We knew that we were going to have to limit their 3s," Marnon said. "We wanted to limit them to less than four and they had five in the first half."
Another tough game looms for the Lady Lions on Friday night as they host Mid-Penn Conference power Central Dauphin. Altoona is unbeaten in the conference standings and handed the Rams their only loss of the season, a 46-35 road win back on December 19.
Tutler scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds, while senior Ella Wilson added 16 points to lead Williamsport. Baney contributed eight points and eight rebounds.
Game notes: The Lady Millionaires were 8-of-9 from the free throw line. … Jaiden Krull chipped in seven points and seven rebounds for Altoona, while Nguyen-Moore had a team-high eight rebounds.
WILLIAMSPORT (42): Rainer 0 0-0 0, Wilson 6 4-4 16, Helmrich 1 0-0 2, Baney 3 2-2 8, Tutler 7 2-3 16, Nieto 0 0-0 0, Mahon 0 0-0 0. Totals - 17 8-9 42.
ALTOONA (48): M. Eyer 7 1-2 20, Nguyen-Moore 2 0-0 5, Wilt 2 0-4 4, Harpster 2 0-2 6, Krull 3 1-4 7, R. Eyer 2 0-0 6, Cogan 0 0-0 0. Totals - 18 2-12 48.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Williamsport 4 16 10 12 - 42
Altoona 12 14 10 12 - 48
3-point goals - Altoona 10 (M. Eyer 5, Harpster 2, R. Eyer 2, Nguyen-Moore).
Records: Williamsport (6-6); Altoona (11-3).
JV: Altoona, 47-16. High Scorers: Ajacia Alexander, A, 10; Nella Erby, W, 6.