Hudson

Altoona Area High School star sophomore Brionna Hudson is a player that the Lady Lions can build around.

Hudson missed some time earlier this season with an injury, but has returned full-force and scored a game-high 17 points Friday night as Altoona routed Central Dauphin East, 59-37 in a Mid-Penn Conference game at the Altoona Area High School Fieldhouse.

Though Hudson is the engine that propels Altoona’s offense, Friday night’s effort by the Lady Lions showed that the team also possesses an excellent supporting cast around her.

Altoona placed nine players in the scoring column, and along with Hudson, senior starter Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore (13 points) and junior starter Raylin Eyer (10) reached double figures.

It’s the kind of all-around effort that Altoona coach Chris Fleegle knows will be especially important once the postseason rolls around in late February and March.

“Brionna Hudson is always going to get her points and she’s healthy and didn’t miss a beat tonight, but even as we get into our bench, multiple kids can do their jobs and do it well,” Fleegle said. “That’s only going to continue as those players get more game experience.”

Hudson, Nguyen-Moore and Eyer are all veterans, but reserves played a key role in helping Altoona take command of the game in the second quarter.

Senior Achiera Cuspert hit the first of her two 3-point shots on the night in the second quarter, and sophomore Alannah Hayward and freshman Kharisma Davis both chipped in field goals as Altoona put together a 20-4 run to take a 36-15 lead.

Hudson and Nguyen-Moore scored a pair of field goals apiece in the second period, while another starter, senior guard Samantha Harpster, connected on a 3-ball for Altoona, which improved its conference record to 3-0 and its overall mark to 3-2.

“We were sharing the ball very well tonight on offense, and we were able to switch defenses to a zone and find success with it,” Fleegle said.

Central Dauphin East (2-3, 0-2) got double-figure scoring from senior guard Samirah Mamobou (12 points) but Altoona’s transition game wore the visitors down as the game progressed.

“Altoona is well-coached, and runs its offense very consistently,” CD East coach Terrill Buxton-Seward said. “We knew coming in that they’re very good at running in transition, and if you don’t slide and drop back on defense, they’re going to find the open player.

“Altoona is a program that is used to winning,” Buxton-Seward said. “We’re still learning how to do that.”

The Lady Lions visit Mount Lebanon for a non-conference game on Monday night, and Carlisle for a conference game on Tuesday night, before returning home to host Chambersburg in another conference game next Friday night.

CENTRAL DAUPHIN EAST (37): Walker 3 0-0 9, Mamobou 4 3-4 12, Burket 1 0-0 3, Griffis 2 0-0 6, Williams 3 1-4 7, Hoover 0 0-0 0, Bellamy 0-0 0, Jackson 0 0-0 0, Kemp 0 0-0 0. Totals – 13 4-8 37.

ALTOONA (59): Hudson 6 5-6 17, Nguyen-Moore 6 1-1 13, Eyer 4 0-0 10, Cogan 1 2-2 4, Harpster 1 0-0 3, Cuspert 2 0-0 6, Hayward 1 0-0 2, Davis 1 0-0 2, Lantzy 1 0-0 2, Stadtmiller 0 0-0 0, Potts 0 0-0 0. Totals -23 8-9 59.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central Dauphin East 11 11 7 8 — 37

Altoona 16 20 16 7 — 59

3-point goals: Central Dauphin East 7 (Walker 3, Griffis 2, Mamobou, Burket); Altoona 5 (Cuspert 2, Eyer 2, Harpster).

Records: Central Dauphin East (2-3 overall, 0-2 in the Mid-Penn Conference); Altoona (3-2, 2-0).

Officials: Derrick Soellner, Mike Andrews, Tom Fountaine.

JV: Altoona, 46-10. High scorers–Tani’je Henry-Hosby, CDE, 4; Nara Harzbecker, A, 13.