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By Ron Musselman
For the Mirror
HOLLIDAYSBURG -- The Hollidaysburg girls basketball team opened its home season Tuesday night with a 58-19 thumping of Williamsport.
The non-conference game was over early against the overmatched Lady Millionaires.
Junior Jillian Sidney scored all 10 of her points during a seven-minute stretch in the first half that triggered a 21-0 run and saw the Lady Tigers' lead climb from 10-8 to 31-8 with three minutes left in the second quarter.
Sidney, who came off the bench, sank two 3-pointers and hit two other baskets.
"I knew we needed a lot of energy from the start," she said. "I just tried to shoot as many shots as I could to try and give us a little energy and maybe some spark.
"It's good to start the season with a win at home. "
Sidney got some of her basketball instincts from her mother, Tricia Greaser, who was a standout player for Hollidaysburg in the late 1980s and a four-year letterwinner at Pitt-Johnstown.
"She's helped me a lot -- she liked to shoot the ball, too," Sidney said, smiling.
Senior Alissa Heim, who missed last season with a torn ACL in her left leg, also helped give the Lady Tigers (4-1) an early spark by scoring eight of her 10 points in the first half.
"It's nice to be back," Heim said. "It just shows all the hard work I put in, as well as all the rehab work, is paying off. It was really difficult last year, not knowing when I was going to be able to start playing again."
Sidney and Heim were joined in double figures by senior Bella Vent, who was in early foul trouble and scored 12 of her game-high 14 points in the third quarter after the game had long been decided and the running clock had kicked in.
Junior Makenna Weimert also contributed 10 points.
"On any given night, any of our kids can score," Hollidaysburg coach Deanna Jubeck said. "That's what we've been focusing on since we got back in the gym. We showed it tonight by having a boatload of people that scored in double digits.
"That's what we expect from Bella Vent, Alissa Heim and Lauren Stevenson. They're our seniors and they give us good leadership. If the going gets tough a little bit in the beginning like it did tonight, we know they're going to come around and come on eventually.
"Alissa Heim did a good job to spark us. And so did Jillian Sidney."
Williamsport (1-5) dropped its fifth consecutive game and didn't have anyone score more than four points.
The Lady Millionaires were shutout in the third quarter and managed only three points in the second half, all coming on foul shots by three different players in the fourth quarter.
"It was a good home opener for our girls to get and show everyone in Hollidaysburg what they're going to be like this year," Jubeck said. "It's a matter of not being at our best in December but making sure that we're looking for the bigger picture and where we can be in February and March."
Hollidaysburg returns home Wednesday to play Philipsburg-Osceola in a Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference game.
WILLIAMSPORT (19): Cannode 0 0-0 0, Minor 0 1-2 1, Ballard 0 0-0 , Helmrich 1 2-4 4, Tutler 1 2-4 4, Martin 1 1-2 3, Moate 1 1-2 3, Campbell 2 0-0 4. Totals - 6 7-14 19.
HOLLIDAYSBURG (58): Stevenson 2 0-0 5, Vent 5 3-4 14, Padamonsky 3 3-4 9, Weimert 4 2-2 10, Heim 3 4-6 10, Sidney 4 0-0 10, Lear 0 0 0-0 0, Bailey 0 0-0 0, Steiner 0 0-0 0, Leighty 0 0-0 0, Hayes 0 0-0 0, Buffone 0 0-0 0. Totals - 21 12-16 58.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Williamsport 8 8 0 3 -- 19
Hollidaysburg 19 19 18 2 --58
3-point goals: Hollidaysburg 4 (Sidney 2, Vent, Stevenson).
Records: Williamsport (1-5); Hollidaysburg (4-1).
JV: Hollidaysburg, 35-31. High scorers-Bailey, Leighty, H, 7 each.
Officials: Samuel Brumati, Chuck Glasser, Chris Garritano.