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By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
EBENSBURG -- Central Cambria came into its District 6 Class 3A quarterfinal game against Huntingdon with an 18-point victory over the Lady Bearcats already under its belt, but thanks to some hot shooting, Huntingdon led by four after one quarter.
The young Lady Devils didn't panic, and Alaina Sheehan's 3-pointer midway through the second quarter put Central Cambria ahead for good in a 65-52 win on Thursday.
Each time the Lady Bearcats clawed back into the game, Sheehan came up with a big shot to stifle the rally.
"We just could not get a hand in her face," Huntingdon coach Eric Troup said. "We missed assignments on defense, and she made us pay."
Sheehan finished the night with six 3-pointers and a game-high 24 points.
"Alaina was a leader tonight," Central Cambria coach Brittany Bracken said. "We have seen her developing over the last couple of years. I would say that tonight she really took over. She was directing our offense and defense. The 3s were huge, but it was the little things she was doing too. She did a great job on defense. I thought she was a floor general out there. I'm very proud of her stepping up."
The victory sets up another rematch for Central Cambria in the semifinals at top-seeded Forest Hills on Monday. The Lady Devils led the Lady Rangers for much of their first meeting on Jan. 22 and went into the fourth quarter tied before Forest Hills pulled away in a 60-50 win.
"I think that game should give us some confidence going in," Bracken said. "We were there once. We can hang with them. We'll take a look at what we did last time, but we need to play our game and come out and out-hustle our opponents. Oftentimes, whoever wants it more, good things happen for them."
Central Cambria's win also means at least two more games for the Lady Devils and was the first postseason win for the girls basketball program in six years.
"This is huge for us," Bracken said. "We made playoffs a couple years ago by default when we were in 4A, but we haven't made playoffs since 2019, I think, and we haven't won a playoff game since our run to the (PIAA semifinals) in 2018. It's really nice to get this win under our belt and be playing to go to the district championship and be playing to go to states. To have Central Cambria back and circulating in that talk, we're very excited. We have been working toward this the last couple of years."
Keira Link added a double-double for Central Cambria with 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Aubrey Ruddek pulled down 10 rebounds of her own. Abigail Sheehan also reached double figures in scoring with 13 points.
Huntingdon cut Central Cambria's lead to eight after Kaylee Querry's jumper with 5:40 left, but Alaina Sheehan responded with her final 3-pointer. When the Lady Bearcats got within seven with 2:15 to go, the Lady Devils ended the game by going 6-for-6 from the foul line.
"We work hard at practice for moments like that," Alaina Sheehan said. "This definitely brings our confidence up. We're mostly all back next year, so this gives us hope for the future. Even if we don't have a long run this year, we know we can do a lot of good next year with most of us back."
Lily Fiscus led Huntingdon, which finished 12-11, with 20 points and helped the Lady Bearcats stay competitive throughout the game, unlike the first matchup between the teams.
"One of the big things was that we had a starter back," Troup said. "Fiscus was struggling with an injury in the first matchup. That was definitely a key, and if we could have converted on some of our open opportunities, we could have had a little bit closer of a game."
Querry, who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, finished out the game on the court with her senior classmates Lily Borger, Isabella Fortney, Allison Lynn and Morgan Guisler.
"It's a good group," Troup said. "I have coached them since seventh grade, and they are definitely going to be missed. It's going to be emotional in the locker room with them having their last basketball game together on the court. It was nice that all five of them got to play together and finish the game on the court."
HUNTINGDON (52): Borger 2 4-6 10, Lynn 1 0-0 3, Querry 6 0-0 12, Fiscus 7 2-2 20, Kazmarski 1 3-6 5, Fox 1 0-0 2, Orenshaw 0 0-0 0, Nicklow 0 0-0 0, Foster 0 0-0 0, Fortney 0 0-0 0, Guisler 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 18 9-14 52.
CENTRAL CAMBRIA (65): Link 5 0-2 10, Ruddek 2 0-0 4, Barra 1 1-2 3, Al. Sheehan 7 4-4 24, Ab. Sheehan 2 9-11 13, Long 4 0-0 9, George 0 2-2 2. Totals -- 21 16-21 65.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Huntingdon 17 12 9 14 -- 52
Central Cambria 13 24 14 14 -- 65
3-point goals: Huntingdon 7 (Fiscus 4, Borger 2, Lynn); Central Cambria 7 (Al. Sheehan 6, Long).
Records: Huntingdon (12-11); Central Cambria (13-10).
Officials: Dan Solomon, Don Bachuta, Matt Gueguen.