It wasn’t exactly the new plays Lady Lions coach Chris Fleegle drew up for the final, a defensive drill or anything on a normal practice itinerary.

It was a steal with 1.9 seconds left in the first quarter, a quick dribble down court and a more-than-halfcourt launch that swished through the hoop and extended Altoona’s lead to eight in an eventual 51-35 championship victory.

“When I’m at practice and on the other end, I like to throw them up to see if they will go in,” Cuspert said. “Tonight it did.”

Was Thursday’s occurrence a normal feat for Cuspert?

Photo for the Mirror by Chuck Meyers Altoona's Brionna Hudson shoots over State College's McKenna Whitehurst.

“Honestly, not really, no,” said Cuspert with a laugh. “But I made one when it counted.”

The shot set off a celebration on the Altoona bench and lightened tension that was building when the Lady Lions pulled down just one rebound in the first quarter and allowed State College to hang around.

“When Achiera hit that to give us an eight-point cushion, I felt confident that we would be able to extend the lead quarter by quarter,” Fleegle said. “We got some really good offense from the new stuff we added, so credit to our players for that.”

Altoona carried the momentum of Cuspert’s shot into the second quarter with a 10-0 run that made it 23-5 that basically put the game away.

“The lead that it gave us was definitely good for our confidence,” Cuspert said. “When we have a bigger lead, we play really well. I think that helped us out.”

Sophomore Brionna Hudson, who scored a game-high 18 points and had 10 rebounds, scored four of the points during the run after Cuspert’s heave.

“It brought us a lot of energy,” Hudson said. “You don’t see something like that often. It uplifted the whole team.”

State College got a glimmer of hope when Hudson and Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore each picked up their second foul in the final minutes of the first half. The Lady Little Lions responded with a 5-0 run that cut the halftime deficit to 13.

But both players returned for the start of the second half, and Hudson made two quick baskets to extend the lead back to 17.

“(Nguyen-Moore and Hudson) are two outstanding players,” Fleegle said. “No. 1, they are both extremely coachable. They are two of the hardest workers in the gym, and they do a lot. Zae has been the leader of our offense all season long orchestrating and getting her teammates involved. They are all confident she will make the right play. When Bri decides that she wants to score the ball, I don’t think there are many teams out there that can slow her down.”

State College senior McKenna Whitehurst led her team with 15 points despite playing through foul trouble the majority of the game.

“There’s not enough good things I can say about McKenna. She’s phenomenal kid and athlete,” State College coach Alli Mock said. “She’s grown phenomenally since her freshman year. We have went through it together since she stepped on the court as a freshman, and we have built that trust. We knew we needed her senior leadership out there, and she rose to the occasion.”

Altoona senior Samantha Harpster, who finished with 11 points, made two 3-pointers in the first minutes of the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

“I’m so proud of Sam,” Fleegle said. “She earned a starting position as a sophomore. She’s become a leader. It doesn’t get noticed a lot, but she’s one of our best defensive players. If you have a good defensive player that can knock down outside shots like she can when she’s feeling confident about her shot, it’s a huge asset.”

State College wrapped up a 15-8 season.

“We lost a few players that we weren’t expecting to lose,” Mock said. “That threw two people into our starting lineup that didn’t have a lot of experience. Looking back from the beginning of the season to now what they were able to accomplish is incredible.”

Altoona will host the WPIAL runner-up in the first round of the PIAA Class 6A playoffs on Friday, March 6.

It’s a position the Lady Lions are familiar with.

“I’m excited for the seniors,” Fleegle said. “That’s their fourth (district title) in a row. Now they get to compete in the state tournament.”

Altoona won its first round game last year before falling to Garnet Valley in the second round.

“It’s a two-peat for me, but for the seniors, that’s four in a row so that’s awesome,” Hudson said. “I love that and am excited for them.”

STATE COLLEGE (35): Mobley 0 2-2 2, Whitehurst 5 1-2 15, Swauger 1 0-0 2, Sh. Wilson 4 0-0 8, Si. Wilson 4 0-2 8, Bechtel 0 0-0 0, Coudriet 0 0-0 0, Krasowitz 0 0-0 0. Totals — 14 3-6 35.

ALTOONA (51): Nguyen-Moore 2 3-4 7, Hudson 8 2-2 18, Eyer 3 2-2 9, Cogan 1 1-2 3, Harpster 4 0-0 11, Cuspert 1 0-2 3, Heyward 0 0-0 0, Harzbecker 0 0-0 0. Totals — 19 8-12 51.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

State College 5 5 12 13 — 35

Altoona 13 10 18 10 — 51

3-point goals: State College 4 (Whitehurst 4); Altoona 5 (Harpster 3, Cuspert, Eyer).

Records: State College (15-8); Altoona (19-4).

Officials: Ray Hoppel, Steve Schaaf, Justin Fraker.