SPRING MILLS — Ann-Marie McMurtrie fired in a career-high 27 points and her Penns Valley Lady Rams needed every one of them as they held off Central Mountain, 46-44, in the championship game at the Winter Ram Jam in Centre County high school girls basketball on Dec. 29.
Bellefonte also was in the tournament field, falling to Juniata, 47-41, in the consolation game.
McMurtrie scored at least 5 points in each quarter. She came up with 9 in the fourth to lead the Lady Rams to their fifth win in eight starts.
McMurtrie scored 7 straight points after Central Mountain grabbed a 38-37 lead with five minutes remaining. Penns Valley was up by 9 at the half.
Julia Emel scored 6 for the Lady Rams. Kianha Jones paced Central Mountain with 17 points.
McMurtrie’s 15 points keyed Penns Valley over Bellefonte, 52-30, on opening night, Dec. 28. The Lady Rams once again got out to a good start and forged a 26-16 lead after two quarters.
Emel added 8 and Elle Dinges 7 for the Lady Rams. Maria Cotter’s 11 points paced Bellefonte, which also received 6 points from Taylor Brown.
In the consolation, Bellefonte dropped to 0-7 but turned in perhaps its best effort of the year, fighting back from down 10 at half to Juniata.
“We continue to make progress and it showed,” Lady Raiders coach Marcus Toomer said. “We are building toward consistency, and we like what we are seeing.”
Cotter scored 14 points to lead Bellefonte. Juniata’s Ava Shearer topped all scorers with 20 points.
BEA RUNNER-UP AT WEST BRANCH
Bald Eagle Area led by 3 points after one quarter and outscored West Branch by 3 in the final frame, but a drought over the middle two stanzas when the Lady Eagles only managed 2 points was the difference as they fell, 39-28, in the championship game of the West Branch Holiday Tournament on Dec. 29.
Abby Hoover was the only Lady Eagle scorer to reach double figures in the final, checking in with 12 points. BEA’s Taylor Habovick was named the tournament’s defensive most valuable player.
Bald Eagle made the championship game by dispatching Harmony, 43-12, the previous day.
The Lady Eagles held the Lady Owls to 1 point in the first half.
Hoover’s 14 points spearheaded BEA, while Habovick netted 10. Sophomore Sybil Thompson and freshman Addisyn Burns contributed 8 points apiece for the Lady Eagles, who enter the New Year with a 4-3 mark.
STATE COLLEGE
Jordyn Steindl scored 16 of her team-high 24 points to power State College over North Schuylkill, 68-63, in the consolation game of its Holiday Hardwood Tournament on Dec. 28.
The Lady Little Lions trailed by 3 at halftime but scored 20 points in the third quarter and 22 in the fourth. Carley Donnell and Jess Hawbaker also hit double figures for State with 15 and 13 points, respectively. State College snapped a four-game losing skid to move to 3-6.
North Schuylkill’s Kamryn Mengel led all scorers with 27 points.
Steindl fired in 20 points in State College’s 64-41 opening-round loss against Perkiomen Valley on Dec. 27. Diana Tsarnakova chipped in with 12 points for the Lady Little Lions.
PENNS VALLEY TOPS BEA
Penns Valley jumped out to a 10-2 lead by the end of the first quarter and Scotty Dinges fired in 16 of her game-high 18 points after that as the Lady Rams posted a 50-37 Mountain League victory over Bald Eagle Area on Jan. 3.
Penns Valley improved to 3-1 in the league and 6-3 overall. BEA slipped to 4-4 and 2-2.
McMurtrie tossed in 14 points and Emel 9 for the Lady Rams. Hoover scored 12, Burns 10 and Thompson 8 for the Lady Eagles, who scored 17 in the fourth quarter in an attempt to rally.
BELLEFONTE
Bellefonte’s hopes for a comeback were snuffed out by a 4-point second half as the host Lady Raiders came out on the short end to undefeated Hollidaysburg, 65-20, in Mountain League action on Jan. 3.
Bellefonte fell to 0-8 overall. Hollidaysburg improved to 8-0.
“We fought hard against an excellent team. Our defense continues to improve and, though Hollidaysburg scored 65 points, the girls did not give up,” Toomer said. “The effort and fight is there to win basketball games.”
Brown’s 8 points led the way for the Lady Raiders. Allison Hatajak accounted for a game-high 21 points for Hollidaysburg.
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA
Philipsburg-Osceola managed just 4 points in the second half and dropped a 34-14 Mountain League decision to visiting Huntingdon on Jan. 3, the Lady Mounties’ fourth straight loss to put them at 2-4 overall and 0-4 in the loop.
The Lady Mounties only trailed 18-10 at half.
“One of these days we will put a full game together instead of just one half,” P-O coach Brandon Myers said.
Khendyl Sharrer’s 7 points paced Philipsburg-Osceola. Lily Borger netted 11 points and Fiscus netted 10 for Huntingdon.
ST. JOSEPH’S
St. Joseph’s only trailed West Branch by 9 at halftime, but the WolfPack had trouble getting their offense in gear after the intermission and fell, 39-19, on Jan. 3, making them 0-6.
Aubrey Yartz’s 10 points paced the WolfPack.
Jenna Mertz of West Branch led all scorers with 19 points.
