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By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
STATE COLLEGE -- Altoona Area High School girls basketball coach Chris Fleegle said that he has emphasized to his team the importance of starting each half of a game strong.
Altoona certainly took heed Friday night.
Using a strong first quarter that it carried, 14-6, and dominating the third quarter, 11-2, Altoona remained unbeaten in the Mid-Penn Conference at 7-0 and hiked its overall record to 10-3 with a 46-36 victory over State College at the State College North Gymnasium.
"Starting each half strong is something that I've talked about with my team, and made a point of emphasis,'' Fleegle said. "The kids were dialed in during our last two practices, and they were excited to get out on the floor tonight.
"We had a strong first quarter and an equally strong third quarter,'' Fleegle added.
Led by sophomore guard Samantha Harpster's two 3-pointers and a trifecta apiece from Melana and Raylin Eyer, Altoona got out of the blocks in a flurry.
"We had some kids step up in the first quarter,'' Fleegle said. "Samantha Harpster hit a couple big 3's for us.''
Leading 22-16 at halftime, Altoona put a good down payment on victory by controlling the third quarter and holding State College to just two points in the period, which ended with Altoona holding a commanding 33-18 lead.
A driving bucket by Melana Eyer, who led all scorers in the game with 12 points, started the period for Altoona, and junior guard Lanie Wilt followed with another driving basket to put Altoona ahead, 26-16.
After a putback by sophomore Zaelin Nguyen-Moore gave Altoona a 28-16 advantage, Altoona closed the period strong on another driving field goal by Melana Eyer and a 3-point, 50-foot buzzer-beating shot by Moore, who scored 11 points.
Keeping State College (9-5, 5-3) to just two points in the third period was also pivotal for Altoona.
"That was our goal - we want to lay the foundation on the defensive end of the floor,'' Fleegle said.
Melana Eyer felt that the quick starts at the outset of each half were pivotal for Altoona.
"Going into a rivalry game like this, we know that we have to get them early,'' Melana Eyer said. "We played well as a team - we shared the basketball, and we executed our defensive assignments.''
State College won the fourth quarter, 18-13, scoring as many points in the final period as it had in the first three combined. Freshman guard Sherrie Wilson led State College with 10 points, eight of which she scored in the final period, as State College whittled Altoona's 15-point lead at the outset of the fourth quarter to eight points twice.
"Overall, we came out kind of slow tonight, we were playing a little timid, but we pulled it together at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth quarter,'' State College coach Allie Mock said. "We're playing with a lot of young kids this year who don't have a lot of varsity experience, but I was proud of how our kids fought back in the fourth quarter tonight.''
Altoona had a 22-18 edge in rebounding, with Moore grabbing a game-high six. Tori Risha led State College with six rebounds as well.
Altoona converted 12 of 36 floor shots for a 33 percent clip, while State College made 14 of 34 for 42 percent.
Altoona hosts Central Dauphin East in another conference game Tuesday night, and will use Friday night's win as a steppingstone.
"Overall, this was a good team win,'' Melana Eyer said.
ALTOONA (46): Wilt 1 6-8 8, Moore 2 6-8 11, Krull 2 2-3 6, M. Eyer 4 2-2 12, Harpster 2 0-0 6, R. Eyer 1 0-0 3, Hollabaugh 0 0-0 0. Totals - 12 16-23 46.
STATE COLLEGE (36): Hawbaker 4 0-0 8, Donnell 1 4-4 6, Sher. Wilson 4 2-3 10, Sien. Wilson 1 0-0 2, Tate 2 0-0 4, Risha 0 0-0 0, Sarnakova 2 0-0 5, Whitehurst 0 1-2 1, Bechtel 0 0-0 0. Totals - 14 7-11 36.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Altoona 14 8 11 13 -- 46
State College 6 10 2 18 -- 36
3-point goals: Altoona 6 (M. Eyer 2, Harpster 2, Moore, R. Eyer); State College 1 (Sarnakova).
Records: Altoona (10-3 overall, 7-0 in the Mid-Penn Conference); State College (9-5, 5-3).
JV: Altoona, 51-43. High scorers--Raylin Eyer, A, 16; Lilly Williams, SC, 13.
Officials: Joe Hanna, Dan Gales, John Mansell.