Basketball

Minus Wilt, Altoona tops BG, three-peats

By John Hartsock

jhartsock@altoonamirror.com

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- With star incoming senior guard Lanie Wilt unavailable to play in his team's Blair Regional YMCA High School Girls Division championship game Thursday night, coach Chris Fleegle stressed the added importance of teamwork to his Altoona squad, which was sponsored by the Beard Legal Group.

The players took heed, and Altoona won its third consecutive league championship, riding incoming senior guard Melana Eyer's game-high 13 points to a 35-27 victory over the Bishop Guilfoyle Academy squad that was sponsored by the Wolford's Gearhart's Moving & Storage company.

Wilt had suffered a head injury late in Tuesday night's semifinal victory for the Beard Legal Group team, and was on the bench providing moral support for her teammates Thursday night.

Eyer was one of the players who stepped up big for the winning team, as did Zaelihn Nguyen-Moore, who chipped in eight points, and Brionna Hudson, who scored six.

"I feel great for these kids,'' Fleegle said. "These kids have constantly gotten better outside of the time that they've spent with our coaching staff, and the more that happens, the more that our program will continue to grow.

"Lanie is doing well, and she will be ready when our high school season begins, but we have some other good players who step up when the opportunity presents itself,'' Fleegle added. "Melana and Zae put a lot of weight on their shoulders tonight, and some other players gave us some key minutes as well.''

Eyer used her outstanding outside shooting form to connect for three 3-point field goals for Wolford's Gearhart's Moving & Storage, which expanded a 16-14 halftime lead to 10 points, 29-19, on a nifty reverse layup by Eyer's younger sister, Raylin, midway through the second half.

That basket capped off an eight-point run for the Beard Legal Group that began with consecutive buckets by Hudson and continued with a jumper for another field goal by Melana Eyer.

"It feels great,'' Melana Eyer said about her team's third straight league championship. "This whole team is full of (very good players), and we all played hard to pull out this title tonight.

"It's extra special for me as a senior this school year to go out of this league with a championship,'' Melana Eyer added.

The BG squad broke out to an early 11-6 lead on a 3-point field goal and two free throws by Andberlyn Petrecca, a 3-point goal by Layona Williams, and a field goal and free throw by Morgan Ruggery.

The Altoona team bounced back by mounting a 10-point run to take a 16-11 lead, on a pair of 3-pointers by Melana Eyer around Hudson's fast-break layup, with a baseline jumper from Kendall Cogan culminating the surge.

Petrecca led the Wolford's Gearhart's Moving & Storage team with eight points and Williams scored seven points, but the team overall did not shoot well, and BG coach Kristi Kaack felt that was the biggest factor in Thursday's outcome.

"We picked a bad night to not shoot well, but that's also a credit to the way that (the Beard Legal Group team) defended,'' Kaack said. "When we did get shots, they didn't fall.

"I'm proud of our kids, they had a real nice summer in this league, and we lost to a good team tonight,'' said Kaack, whose squad finished league play with a 12-4 record.

Fleegle's team finished league play with a 14-1 record en route to securing its third straight championship trophy.

"We have all worked hard, and I'm excited for our next high school basketball season,'' Melana Eyer said. "I feel like we're going to make a run next season.''

WOLFORD'S GEARHART'S MOVING & STORAGE (27): Adams 2 0-0 4, Gofus 1 0-0 2, Ruggery 1 2-4 4, Petrecca 2 3-6 8, Williams 2 2-2 7, Querry 0 2-2 2, Homan 0 0-0 0. Totals - 8 9-14 27.

BEARD LEGAL GROUP (35): Moore 3 2-8 8, M. Eyer 4 2-4 13, R. Eyer 1 0-0 2, Cogan 2 0-0 4, Harpster 0 2-2 2, Hudson 3 0-0 6, Beltz 0 0-0 0, Cuspert 0 0-0 0. Totals - 13 6-14 35.

Halftime: Beard Legal Group, 16-14.

3-point goals: Beard Legal Group 3 (M. Eyer 3); Wolford's Gearhart's Moving & Storage 2 (Petrecca, Williams).

Officials: Bill Pfeffer, Jack McDougal, George Figura.