Lady Mounties, Lady Rams win holiday tourneys

Everyone was on vacation from school over the holidays, but there was still lots of action in local girls’ basketball, especially in tournaments across the area. Here’s some of what happened.

In the West Branch Holiday Tournament, Bald Eagle Area broke into the win column with a 43-37 victory over the host Lady Warriors.

It was the Bald Eagles’ first win of the season after four losses, the latest of which came at the hands of East Juniata on Dec. 22.
But playing for the championship of the tournament was a big boost for the team, even though it set up a rematch with Philipsburg-Osceola and star guard Halle Herrington.

In that game, held Dec. 29, BEA came out swinging and took an early 10-9 lead after the first quarter. Herrington, however, began to assert herself in the second quarter and the Mounties rallied to take a 24-18 lead. P-O then held BEA to just seven second-half points and pulled away for a 46-25 win and the tournament championship.

Herrington, who is averaging close to 30 points per game, led the Mounties with 18 points, and she was followed by Lacey Potter, Cassidy Hughes and Lindsey Bordas, who all scored eight points.

The win was the fourth overall for the Lady Mounties and put their record at 4-3 for the season so far. P-O came into the tournament on a two-game losing streak after games with Penns Valley and Juniata, but a blowout win over Harmony Area and then the win over BEA roped in a title and a winning record.

Nearly the same fate awaited the Bellefonte girls’ team as did the BEA team.

After going winless in their first five games, the Lady Raiders broke through with a 30-26 victory over East Juniata in the first round of the Selinsgrove Christmas Tournament on Dec. 26.

Down by two points going into the final quarter, Abbey Bruni hit on a pair of 3-pointers and Maddie Steiner scored a big put-back with seven seconds to play as the Raiders came back for their first win.

Bellefonte’s good fortune did not last, however, as Selinsgrove came back to take the final by a score of 43-32.

The game was close at halftime with Selinsgrove holding a slim 17-15 lead, but the Seals pulled away after the break and held on for the win.

Bellefonte will next be back in action in a Mountain League contest against Philipsburg-Osceola on Friday, Jan. 5, and then will be on the road at Tyrone on Wednesday, Jan. 10.

The Penns Valley Lady Rams had a festive time playing in the Williamsburg Holiday Tournament to say the least.

The Rams won the tournament with victories over Glendale and Moshannon Valley by a combined score of 117-24. The Glendale score was 60-9 in the opener, and then PV kept it going with a 57-15 win over the Damsels in the final.

Except for a one-point win over Juniata Valley in the season opener, Penns Valley has not allowed an opponent get closer than 35 points in its five wins since then.

Mifflinburg is next for PV in a non-league contest Thursday, Jan. 4, and then it will be back into Mountain League play Friday, Jan. 5, against Central.

Not to be outdone, St. Joseph’s Academy girls are undefeated as well, with a 4-0 record so far. After an opening runaway over Grace Prep (63-2), there have been wins over Neumann Regional (57-38), Glendale (57-40) and Williamsburg (45-43).

The Lady Wolves did not play in a tournament and were scheduled next be at Moshannon Valley on Jan. 3, after Gazette press time. They then travel to Harrisburg Academy on Saturday, Jan. 6.

The State College girls’ team saw their record fall to 4-4 after a 53-43 loss to Northampton in the consolation game of the State College Kiwanis Holiday Classic on Dec. 28 in the North Gym.

Northampton scored the first 10 points in the game and held on through numerous SC comeback attempts. SC at the end of the third quarter pulled to within nine points of the Konkrete Kids, but a lid fell on the basket from there and the Lions never crept closer.

Kelsey Love had 12 points for SC and Maya Bokunewicz also helped with 12, but Northampton build leads well into double figures in the first half and the Lions cold shooting  could not make up the difference.

In the first game, SC fell to eventual champion North Schuylkill by a score of 72-62.

To begin the new year, State College will face off with Cumberland Valley in a Mid-Penn Conference game, New Oxford and then travel to Central Dauphin on Tuesday, Jan. 9, for another conference game.