A see-saw game throughout the second half ended with a Denyla Handy jumper with four seconds left to send the Lady Mountain Lions home in a 36-35 loss to the Lady Wildcats in the PIAA Class 6A semifinals at Chambersburg High School.

Just prior to the Handy basket, Brionna Hudson had her own basket to put Altoona up 35-34, but Handy’s heroics was the decider.

Altoona turned the ball over with a second left and wasn’t able to get a foul with under a second left in the game.

“It comes down to one of our players made a play, and one of their players made a play, and their player made the last play,” Altoona coach Chris Fleegle said.

Brionna Hudson pulls down a rebound for Altoona. Photo for the Mirror by Chuck Meyers

Dallastown coach Molly Day said she contemplated a timeout after Hudson’s basket put the Lady Mountain Lions up a point, but decided it was in the Lady Wildcats’ best interest to play on.

“I think I knew based on our history that it was better for us to be in the flow,” Day said. “It was just better for us naturally in transition. I just kind of knew.

“(Handy) is the most humble and gracious kid you’ll ever meet. Instead of saying ‘I made that shot,’ she’s in there celebrating with her teammates. All of them got here. I’m so proud of my kids.”

Handy was a key all game as she led Dallastown with 17 points for the night.

“She’s a freshman and she’s a player,” Fleegle said. “She’s got speed, strength, good hands, and a good shooter.”

Altoona couldn’t have asked for a better start with an 11-0 run to open in the first five minutes. Handy got her team on the board with six points herself by the end of the quarter.

The Lady Wildcats made it 18-15 by halftime, but the bigger story was the foul trouble of Altoona senior Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore, who picked up her fourth foul with 3:50 to play in the third quarter.

She subbed back in to start the fourth quarter and never fouled out, but the game was tied at 29 to start the final period.

“A couple of things that we couldn’t afford happened and (Nguyen-Moore in foul trouble) would probably be at the top of my list,” Fleegle said. “It happened, but give credit to the kids that were out there. We put her back in and it was a tie game. It might not have been pretty, but they held their own.”

Dallastown will play Upper Dublin in the state championship on Friday evening at the Giant Center. Upper Dublin beat Archbishop Carroll, 36-35, in the other semifinal on Tuesday evening.

“I said at the beginning of the year our hope was to make it to the postseason,” Day said. “Every time our kids have gotten knocked down this year, they come back. A state final is something I never thought we’d get to.”

Altoona finished the season at 23-5 and graduates three starters in Nguyen-Moore, Kendall Cogan, and Samantha Harpster, and a key reserve in Achiera Cuspert.

“I told them I’m proud of them,” Fleegle said. “They continued the progress of putting our program back on the map at the state level. Any game right now — one good team is going home and one good team is advancing. I thanked them. I also told the underclassmen we need to improve because this is a place where Altoona needs to stay.”

DALLASTOWN (36): Cleaver 0 0-0 0, Scovitch 2 1-3 7, Handy 7 2-4 17, Jamison 2 4-6 9, McLane 1 0-0 3, Gentzler 0 0-0 0, Strouse 0 0-0 0. Totals — 12 7-13 36.

ALTOONA (35): Nguyen-Moore 1 4-4 6, Hudson 7 0-0 14, Eyer 2 0-0 6, Cogan 1 1-2 3, Harpster 2 0-0 6, Cuspert 0 0-0 0. Totals — 13 5-6 35.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Dallastown 6 9 14 7 — 36

Altoona 11 7 11 6 — 35

3-point goals: Dallastown 5 (Scovitch 2, Handy, Jamison, McLane); Altoona 4 (Eyer 2, Harpster 2).

Records: Dallastown (26-3); Altoona (23-5).