Friday evening’s Altoona Mirror Classic was just one example of how special of a time it is in girls basketball in Blair County right now.

The Williamsburg girls made it to the state finals, while Altoona made the PIAA semifinals, and Bishop Guilfoyle and Hollidaysburg are regulars in their respective state tournaments.

Put all of those schools together and it makes for a pretty good all-star team with Blair County defeating Central PA, 70-63, on Friday at Penn State Altoona’s Adler Athletic Complex.

Central PA leads the all-time series, 11-8, although Blair County now has won the last two Classics.

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Central PA's Makenna McCoy is pressured by Blair County's Samantha Harpster.

“Our area has such good girls basketball right now,” Blair County coach Angela Detwiler of Williamsburg said. “We were rooting for all of these teams. There’s a lot of good coaches in this area, and a lot of great players.”

Hollidaysburg’s Makenna Weimert was Blair County’s MVP after scoring 15 points for the game. Her brother, Leyton Weimert, was the Mirror Classic’s MVP two years ago.

“It was a great experience,” Weimert said. “I love playing with my Hollidaysburg seniors, but to play with my friends from other teams, it was so fun. I played with some of them in AAU, and it was a great experience to end my senior year.”

Aubrey Yartz of Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy was the Central PA most valuable player after her seven points while also leading her team in rebounds with 13.

“This was so much fun,” Yartz said. “I’m so happy I got to come back out and play. Our season just ended, and it was nice to get back out on the court. I played with a lot of these girls when I was younger, and I played against them throughout the season. It was cool to have them as my teammates.”

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Central PA's Kinley Rogal picks up a loose ball by Blair County's Regan Prough.

Central PA coach Missy Helsel of Clearfield had an opportunity to coach her daughter, Mia, in one final game. Mia Helsel, who had seven points, was the first Lady Bison to play in the Mirror Classic.

“I was honored to be asked to coach and have Mia on the team,” Missy Helsel said. “It was super special. We had a great time meeting the girls we’ve played against over the years, and being able to play with them and coach them, it was great.

“You don’t think it’s going to go that fast from ninth grade on, but I blinked and all of a sudden she was a senior. It’s really special.”

Blair County held a 42-28 lead at halftime, but Central PA made it a game in the second half. A 14-point lead disappeared at the 9-minute mark of the fourth quarter with Central PA leading by two.

Blair County climbed back in it with the lead at 65-62 before Weimert splashed her only 3-pointer of the game with 1:10 remaining to give her team a six-point lead.

Weimert’s teammate at Hollidaysburg, Alana Lightner, put in a bucket in the final minute to seal it for Blair County.

“It was great to win, and I’m taking great memories with me to Mount Aloysius,” Weimert said.

Central PA had two players not play in the game due to injuries in Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy’s Naomi Crispin and Juniata Valley’s Anna Taylor.

Windber’s Kaylie Gaye and Johnstown’s NaLonai Tisinger each had 10 points to lead Central PA.

Lightner had 13 points to chip in for Blair County. Altoona’s Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore picked up six points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Bellwood-Antis’ Lilly Gerwert pulled down 10 rebounds, while Williamsburg’s LeeAnna Royer had 10 points, six rebounds and eight assists.

“It was a really nice experience. This is a really nice group of girls,” Detwiler said. “They came with so much energy. They were so much fun to be around at practice. You could tell they all have a really good work ethic.”

CENTRAL PA (63): Thomas 3 0-0 9, Long 0 0-0 0, Maul 3 0-1 7, Yartz 3 0-2 7, Housley 1 4-6 7, Gaye 4 0-0 10, Helsel 3 0-0 7, Tisinger 4 2-5 10, McCoy 0 0-0 0, Rogal 3 0-2 6. Totals — 24 6-16 63.

BLAIR COUNTY (70): Adams 2 0-0 6, Prough 2 0-0 6, Cogan 2 0-1 4, Royer 4 0-0 10, Nguyen-Moore 3 0-0 6, Crowell 1 0-0 2, Weimert 7 0-0 15, Padamonsky 0 0-0 0, Yeskey 2 0-0 4, Gerwert 2 0-0 4, Lightner 6 1-5 13, Harpster 0 0-0 0. Totals — 31 1-6 70.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central PA 13 15 22 13 — 63

Blair County 21 21 11 17 — 70

3-point goals: Central PA 9 (Thomas 3, Maul, Yartz, Housley, Gaye 2, Helsel 1); Blair County 7 (Adams 2, Prough 2, Royer 2, Weimert).

Officials: Mairade Byrne, Jill Helsel, Bill Zupich.