Fleegle asked for guidance on how to pull off an upset such as the one his team had on Friday evening in the PIAA Class 6A quarterfinals against Cardinal O’Hara.

“He said, ‘You have to make them believe it,'” Fleegle said.

Fleegle came up with a headline for Saturday’s Altoona Mirror that said ‘Altoona is back in the Final Four’ and wrote it on the whiteboard in the Cumberland Valley High School locker room.

The motivational tactic that was fit for a sports movie worked with Altoona coming back from down 10 points in the fourth quarter, and rallying for a 38-37 victory in overtime over Cardinal O’Hara.

Photo for the Mirror by Curt Werner Altoona coach Chris Fleegle tries to stay composed late in Friday’s thrilling victory.

“When they got back to the locker room after the game and I showed them the board, the locker room erupted,” Fleegle said.

On a night where not much was going right on the offensive end for three quarters for Altoona, it found a spark in 3-point specialist Raylin Eyer.

Eyer had only been held to three points in the first three quarters but caught fire in the fourth quarter with three from beyond the arc. The three from long distance, plus a layup from Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore, turned a 10-point deficit into a one-point lead at 30-29 with less than four minutes to play.

“It really changed the momentum of the game,” Eyer said.

“She was lights-out,” Fleegle said. “She’s one of the best shooters in our conference. When she’s on, she’s one of the best shooters in the state. A lot of shooters will wave it if they’re missing. She doesn’t care. She has the confidence it’s going to go in.”

Photo for the Mirror by Curt Werner Altoona’s Raylin Eyer connects on a big 3-pointer for the Lady Lions late in the fourth quarter Friday night against Cardinal O’Hara.

The swing was hardly a shock for Cardinal O’Hara coach Chrissie Doogan.

“It’s not the first time we’ve seen them do it,” Doogan said. “They play 32 minutes. They don’t give up on each other. They have confidence in their shooters. Give them credit.”

Altoona had the ball with a tie game at 32 for the final two minutes. Brionna Hudson was fouled with 6.8 seconds left, which showed on the scoreboard that it was Cardinal O’Hara’s fifth foul of the quarter. Hudson was sent to the foul line and made a pair of free throws.

But after a timeout, it was determined that it was only Cardinal O’Hara’s fourth foul of the quarter, which meant Hudson should not have been shooting free throws, and the points were taken off the scoreboard.

“They weren’t in the bonus. I don’t know if it was a clock operator accident or what,” Fleegle said. “She shot the free throws. I’ve been coaching basketball for a long time. I’m going to trust (the officials) until I see the math.”

Photo for the Mirror by Curt Werner Senior Achiera Cuspert attempts a shot from the foul line for the Lady Lions.

Achiera Cuspert got a look at the final shot, and the Lady Mountain Lions got an offensive rebound for a tip-in, but it rattled out to send the game to overtime.

Nguyen-Moore made a layup with a minute left in overtime, and Hudson hit a pair of free throws after a stop on defense to go up 38-34 with less than one minute left.

Cardinal O’Hara sharpshooter Brigidanne Donohue splashed a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left to put her team within a point. Donohue led her team with 19 points.

After Donohue’s trey, Altoona was able to play keep-away, and the game ended without Cardinal O’Hara getting a foul.

“This team has so much fight and resiliency,” Fleegle said. “It’s just like the Norwin game where we had the banked 3 (at the end of regulation) and a banked 3 in overtime. These girls are never going to quit.”

Nguyen-Moore led Altoona with 16 points.

The win gave Altoona its first berth in the PIAA semifinals since 2005. The Lady Mountain Lions will play Dallastown on Monday in the semis. Dallastown defeated Canon-McMillan, 54-39, on Friday evening.

“This is fun. You want to compete. Altoona hasn’t been at the highest level for a while,” Fleegle said. “This is what I want as a coach. This is what my kids want. I don’t want to play a 30- or 40-point game. Let them go against kids that are one of the best teams in the state.”

Monday’s game is at a site and time to be determined.

ALTOONA (38): Nguyen-Moore 6 3-4 16, Hudson 2 5-6 9, Eyer 4 0-0 12, Cogan 0 1-2 1, Harpster 0 0-0 0, Cuspert 0 0-2 0. Totals — 12 9-14 38.

CARDINAL O’HARA (37): Hudak 0 1-2 1, Craft 2 0-0 4, Donohue 6 2-3 19, Rullo 3 1-2 7, Doogan 2 0-0 6, Davis 0 0-0 0, Wakefield 0 0-0 0. Totals — 13 4-7 37.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Altoona 8 4 7 13 6 — 38

Cardinal O’Hara 8 10 8 6 5 — 37

3-point goals: Altoona 5 (Nguyen-Moore, Eyer 4); Cardinal O’Hara 7 (Donohue 5, Doogan 2).

Records: Altoona (23-4); Cardinal O’Hara (23-5).

Officials: Annie Hite, Jennifer Rinaldi, John Ciak