The two schools did just that and despite a back-and-forth affair early in the first quarter, Altoona pulled away, building a double-digit lead over the rest of the game en route to a 48-35 victory and a sweep of the two-game series this season.

“No. 1, I think it was important for these seniors to play in that environment because it was a nice crowd. Altoona and Hollidaysburg always draw a nice crowd,” Altoona coach Chris Fleegle said, pointing out that both he and the Lady Tigers’ Deanna Jubeck had talked about playing the game. “We both have a two-week layoff between competitive games. We would have scrimmaged so it was nice to have fans and officials and play a competitive game, and that is what we did.”

Neither coach worried that if someone got hurt playing in the game, and missed the PIAA State Tournament, which begins next week, that some hearts, dreams and aspirations would be broken.

“Obviously, when you have multiple weeks off between districts and states, it is good to get a game under your belt,” Jubeck said. “I think it was a positive for both programs. We look at it as a kid could get hurt walking to their car in the morning, or at practice. It’s no more worries than we have on a regular basis.”

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

Fleegle, a one-time assistant under Jubeck at Hollidaysburg, agreed.

“That is always a worry this time of the year. You don’t want to lose a player to injury, but that can happen at practice, or walking down the steps at school,” he said. “Sometimes you just have to hope for the best.”

Early on in the first quarter, Alana Lightner was at her best for the Lady Tigers (18-6). She scored six points to help lead the team. She gave Hollidaysburg a 6-4 lead at the 4:04 mark, but that was the last time her club had the lead.

Altoona, behind buckets from Brionna Hudson and Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore, finished the first quarter on a 10-2 run for a 14-8 lead.

“Lightner had some good minutes to start the game, but then we got some stops and then started moving the ball and we hit some shots,” Fleegle said.

Altoona (20-4) clamped down defensively in the second quarter, holding Hollidaysburg to just four points in the frame, a bucket from Lightner and one from Makenna Weimert. Behind two 3-pointers from Raylin Eyer, and one off the bench from Achiera Cuspert, Altoona’s 11 points in the quarter were good enough for a 25-12 halftime lead.

“We were mixing some things up to see what we are capable of playing. We played a little zone, which we haven’t done in a lot of years,” Jubeck said. “They got some good looks and they knocked down their shots. This time of year it’s important to see what you have in your arsenal and see what they can do with it.”

Altoona finished with seven 3-pointers, two each from Hudson, Eyer and Nguyen-Moore, while Hollidaysburg managed just one.

“It’s funny how that happens sometimes,” Fleegle said.”The rim gets bigger when one or two go in. It feels like it’s contagious.Tonight, we had multiple players hitting 3s. They work hard at it, and they are going to make more than they miss.”

Altoona kept its lead between 15 to 18 points early in the third quarter. Hollidaysburg got it down to a manageable 11 points at 33-22 on a Lightner bucket at around the two-minute mark. However, Hudson and Kharisma Davis each scored a bucket in the final 45 seconds to extend the lead back up to 37-22 after three quarters.

“I thought there was effort from both teams for 32 minutes,” Jubeck said. “Yes, it was a different atmosphere with it being this late in the season, but I still felt there was a full effort from both teams.”

Both teams emptied their benches as the fourth quarter wore on with the Lady Tigers outscoring Altoona, 13-11, in the end. Clare Padamonsky scored 10 of her 14 points in the frame, a quarter that saw Altoona lead by as much as 21 points (48-27).

“Obviously, we play them four times in an eight-month period with summer ball and each team knows individual tendencies,” Fleegle said. “We wanted to keep them out of the paint. We wanted to keep their players from getting paint touches. Once we figured out the rebounding situation, I felt we could build a comfortable lead.”

After Padamonsky’s 14 points, Lightner wound up with 10 points, but the Lady Lions held Weimert, a double-digit scorer for Hollidaysburg, to six points.

“Any time Altoona and Hollidaysburg square off, it will be a tough defensive matchup,” Jubeck said. “You just have to find your mismatches.”

Hudson, who missed a good chunk of the second quarter with foul trouble, still finished with 16 points, and she hardly played in the fourth quarter. Nguyen-Moore, who got her third foul in the third quarter, wound up with 14 points.

“We want to share the basketball,” Fleegle said. “We want to have multiple people scoring. (Nguyen-Moore) does a great job of getting everyone involved in the offense.”

Altoona will host the No. 2 seed out of the WPIAL to open states next Friday, March 6. Hollidaysburg will host Trinity, the WPIAL seventh seed, on Saturday, March 7.

“I think we are in a good place going into states. We got some film and we are going to break it down with the girls and go from there,” Jubeck said.

ALTOONA (48): Nguyen-Moore 5 2-2 14, Hudson 6 2-2 16, Eyer 2 0-0 6, Harpster 1 0-0 2, Heyward 0 0-0 0, Cogan 2 1-3 5, Lantzy 0 0-0 0, Cusper 1 0-0 3, Harzbecker 0 0-0 0, Davis 1 0-0 2, Neuner 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 5-7 48.

HOLLIDAYSBURG (35): Padamonsky 5 4-5 14, Steiner 1 2-2 5, Sidney 0 0-0 0, Weimert 2 2-5 6, Lightner 5 0-1 10, Hayer 0 0-0 0, Leighty 0 0-0 0, Basenback 0 0-0 0, Lear 0 0-0 0, Gearhart 0 0-0 0, Long 0 0-2 0. Totals: 13 8-15 35.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Altoona 14 11 12 11 — 48

Hollidaysburg 8 4 10 13 — 35

3-point goals: Altoona 7 (Nguyen-Moore 2, Hudson 2, Eyer 2, Cuspert); Hollidaysburg 1 (Steiner).

Records: Altoona (20-4), Hollidaysburg (18-6)

JV: Altoona, 43-34. High scorers: Basenback, H, 11; Beck, A, 10

Officials: Ab Dettorre, Andy Henry, Jim McGlaughlin