Basketball

AAHS catches fire in 2nd quarter en route to victory

By John Hartsock

jhartsock@altoonamirror.com

The Hollidaysburg and Altoona High school girls basketball programs have waged many spirited battles in their long and interesting competitive history with each other over the years.

Monday's matchup between the two teams that served as the front end of a girls-boys Hollidaysburg-Altoona doubleheader at the Altoona Fieldhouse didn't turn out to be one of them.

The two teams were tied, 12-12 after one quarter, but it was all Altoona in the second and third quarters, as the Lady Lions racked up a 54-36 victory in a matchup of two teams that now both have 3-1 records.

Altoona carried the second quarter, 18-3, en route to a 30-15 halftime lead, then put the game completely out of Hollidaysburg's reach in the third quarter, which the Lady Lions began with a 10-point run to take command, 40-15.

Altoona's balanced attack was led by senior Melana Eyer's game-high 16 points. Senior guard Lanie Wilt added 13 points and junior forward Zaelihn Nguyen-Moore added 10 for Altoona, which converted 18 of its 39 floor shots for a 46 percent clip. Altoona held a 25-19 advantage on the boards, as freshman Brionna Hudson grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

"In practice, we've talked about getting better every day as a team,'' Altoona coach Chris Fleegle said. "I think that we rebounded well, played good team defense, and pushed the ball in transition well tonight.''

Wilt ignited Altoona's second-quarter uprising with a 3-pointer from the top of the circle to give the Lady Lions the lead for good, 15-12. Junior Samantha Harpster knocked down a 3-pointer from the right corner, Eyer hit one of two free throws, and Hudson converted a teammate's feed for another field goal, was fouled on the shot, and converted the free throw to complete the 3-point play and put Altoona ahead, 22-12.

Hollidaysburg made only one of 10 floor shots in the second period, which Altoona capped off with two free throws and a pair of layups by Nguyen-Moore.

"I thought that we shared the ball very well in the second quarter, and our team energy pushed us,'' Wilt said. "Defensively, we zeroed in on our assignments, and it's definitely exciting to play before a big crowd here tonight and win this rivalry game.''

The Altoona onslaught continued in the third quarter, as Melana Eyer scored an inside bucket, Wilt hit a jumper from the top of the key, and Melana Eyer followed with a pair of 3-balls as Altoona mounted the 10-point surge to take the 40-15 lead.

"In the second quarter, Altoona did a good job of hitting their open shots and that's what buried us,'' said Hollidaysburg coach Deanna Jubeck. "It was a 12-12 game after one quarter, but they went on an 18-3 run, and as a team, we can't allow that.

"We have to buckle down and play a lot better defensively than we did tonight,'' Jubeck added.

Junior Makenna Weimert scored 15 points to lead Hollidaysburg, which will visit Bald Eagle Area Wednesday night. Altoona hosts another rival, Mid-Penn Conference foe State College, Wednesday night.

"I've been happy with the way that we've been practicing, and the way that a team practices leads into what a team does in its games,'' Fleegle said. "If we can emphasize good practices, we can continue to get better.''

HOLLIDAYSBURG (36): Stevenson 0 0-0 0, Vent 4 0-1 9, Weimert 4 7-10 15, Heim 3 2-4 8, Padamonsky 1 2-2 4, Steiner 0 0-0 0, Sidney 0 0-2 0. Totals - 12 11-19 36.

ALTOONA (54): Wilt 5 1-1 13, M. Eyer 5 3-4 16, Nguyen-Moore 3 4-6 10, Harpster 1 0-0 3, Hudson 3 1-1 8, Cogan 0 0-0 0, R. Eyer 1 2-2 4, Stadtmiller 0 0-0 0, Heyward 0 0-0 0, Lantzy 0 0-0 0, Beck 0 0-0 0. Totals - 18 11-14 54.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Hollidaysburg 12 3 5 16--36

Altoona 12 18 17 7--54

3-point goals: Hollidaysburg 1 (Vent); Altoona 7 (M. Eyer 3, Wilt 2, Harpster, Hudson).

Records: Hollidaysburg (3-1); Altoona (3-1).

Officials: Curtis Miller, Courtney Cecere, Randy Burkett.