Just before going into the locker room, Fleegle asked who got the ball first in the third quarter. After he was told it was Altoona, he began to set a plan into motion that changed the game.

The Lady Lions got a wide open layup from sophomore Brionna Hudson — her first points of the game — to start a 15-0 run that put them in control of a game they eventually won, 56-41.

“We came out of halftime, sat down and drew it up,” Fleegle said. “I wanted to get Bri an easy basket. The way they defend us — they are going to worry about (outside shooters) Raylin (Eyer) and Samantha (Harpster). We spaced those two out, and Raylin came up and set that screen and gave Zae an open court to pass Bri the ball. I wanted to get Bri on the board and get her a basket to hopefully get her going for us in the second half.”

Hudson scored all nine of her points in the second half and also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. She also was a force inside defensively, blocking several State College shots that helped limit the Lady Little Lions to just six 2-point field goals in the game.

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Altoona's Kendall Cogan looks to the net by State College's Sheree Wilson.

“We went back to man,” Fleegle said. “They were knocking down shots against our zone. Credit to them. They were making a lot of 3-pointers, which is typically not what they normally do. We got out of the zone and challenged them at halftime. Last year, we lost a game early in the year to them where it felt like nothing was going right. I told them I feel like this group is a little different, and I told them to go out and show they are different. They responded in the second half, and I was proud of them.”

Leading the way by keeping Altoona afloat in the first half and then by directing traffic in the second was Nguyen-Moore, who led all scorers with 20 points.

“She’s had a fantastic senior year,” Fleegle said. “She works hard. She’s the voice of our team, and for her, it is about confidence. She knows it’s her team, and she knows I have her back. She is playing out of her mind all the way up to this point, and I know with her work ethic, it’s going to continue throughout the season.”

Nguyen-Moore has shown flashes of great potential during her first three seasons with Altoona, but she’s reached a new level this season.

“This year, I am at a new position,” Nguyen-Moore said. “That’s given me a different perspective of the game. I also want to say the confidence of my teammates in me definitely helps. Last year, I was more of a role player. This year, I feel like as my team goes on further and further, it can be someone new every night but some nights it could be me.”

State College, which lost to Altoona at home 67-42 on Dec. 10, was hot from outside early and finished with eight 3-pointers, which helped the Lady Little Lions take a 22-21 lead into the half.

“We’ve had to play against zone versus every team we have played this year,” State College coach Alli Mock said. “It’s been a big emphasis for us in practice and we have spent a lot of time on it. It’s nice to see our hard work at it — knowing we’ll see it from every team down the road — is paying off.”

Despite all the shots falling for the opposition, Fleegle did not panic.

“At halftime we were down one, and Coach Fleegle came into the locker room and was very calm,” Nguyen-Moore said. “He wasn’t nervous. He knows some nights we come out a little slow, and that happened again tonight. But he had confidence in us, and he gave us some encouraging words to come out and have a better half.”

Altoona shot very well in the second half and got a 3-pointer just before the third-quarter buzzer from Samantha Harpster, who finished with 12 points.

State College, which was led by Sienna Wilson’s 16 points, was held scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half until a Wilson 3-pointer.

“We threw our punch and talked at halftime about how they were going to throw their punch back,” Mock said. “At the end of the day, we didn’t absorb that punch very well. Our big thing is needing to strong four quarters together. We strung two together tonight, and now we just have to get to four.”

Altoona has just one loss in the Mid-Penn, but Central Dauphin — the team it lost to — is unbeaten. If the Lady Lions can win out and win a rematch against Central Dauphin, however, there is a good chance they can still make it to the conference playoffs.

“We definitely want to go on a streak and not lose the rest of our Mid-Penn season and make it to the championship,” Nguyen-Moore said. “It’s really important to us, because it shows how much work, time and dedication we have put in over the years (to become a top team in the league).”

STATE COLLEGE (41): Mobley 1 0-0 2, Coudriet 1 0-0 3, Whitehurst 1 1-2 4, Sh. Wilson 4 0-0 11, Si. Wilson 5 4-5 16, Swauger 1 0-0 2, Bechtel 1 0-0 3. Totals — 14 5-7 41.

ALTOONA (56): Nguyen-Moore 6 6-6 20, Hudson 4 1-1 9, Eyer 2 2-2 8, Cogan 3 1-2 7, Harpster 3 3-3 12, Cuspert 0 0-0 0, Heyward 0 0-0 0. Totals — 18 13-14 56.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

State College 12 10 9 10 — 41

Altoona 9 12 20 15 — 56

3-point goals: State College 8 (Sh. Wilson 3, Si. Wilson 2, Bechtel, Whitehurst, Coudriet); Altoona 7 (Harpster 3, Nguyen-Moore 2, Eyer 2).

Records: State College (7-5); Altoona (11-3).

Officials: Kevin Laird, Emma Musser, Jarryd Burkett.

JV: Altoona, 37-34. High scorers–Nora Harzbecker, A, 10; Katherine Savitsiki, SC, 10.