Jan 14, 2025
Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Bishop Guilfoyle’s Stella Yeskey is cornered by Hollidaysburg’s Makenna Weimert (left) and Clare Padamonsky.
By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
Hollidaysburg and Bishop Guilfoyle Academy both entered Monday’s Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference showdown undefeated in the league, but what seemed like it would be a battle to the end turned into a statement from the Lady Tigers.
And it happened rather quickly to stun the home crowd at Pleasant Valley Gymnasium.
Trailing by one two minutes into the game, Hollidaysburg went on an 11-1 run and never looked back in a 62-39 victory over the Lady Marauders.
“We know that when you come into BG it’s a hostile crowd,” Hollidaysburg coach Deanna Jubeck said. “If you can take the wind out of their sails a little early it helps to silence them a little bit.”
Hollidaysburg seemed to get every loose ball, grab every contested rebound and got early 3-pointers from Lauren Stevenson and Jillian Sidney to build a 25-13 lead after a quarter.
“I told the kids, it’s humbling,” Bishop Guilfoyle coach Kristi Kaack said. “They walked into the gym, and they were prepared. They were excited to be here. I said to the kids, I could say we played four games in six days and they looked tired, but the truth is — they just came out and beat us. They were the better team tonight. We’re going to go back to work and fix some of the errors we had tonight.”
One of the most physical Hollidaysburg players Monday was Stevenson, who is just 5 feet, 4 inches tall but had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“She has started a lot of games for us,” Jubeck said. “We put the ball in her hands and ask her to run the offense, and she’s doing a good job for us, knowing she has to help down and rebound. Right now, she’s our third-leading rebounder and that says a lot about a kid her stature.”
Stevenson seemed to get stronger as the game went on with many of her rebounds coming on the offensive end that directly led to baskets that ballooned Hollidaysburg’s lead even higher.
“Size doesn’t really matter,” Stevenson said. “You just have to be strong, be aggressive and not be afraid of anything. I was defending a lot under the basket today, so I was in the area.”
The game was played more at the pace BG prefers in the second half, and the Lady Tigers only outscored BG, 22-19.
“I asked them to show a little bit of pride and look like we wanted to be here,” Kaack said. “I thought in the first half, (Hollidaysburg) really controlled the tempo on both ends of the floor. They dictated what we wanted to do on the offensive end, and then I think they came down and got pretty much any opportunity that they wanted on the offensive end for them.”
Morgan Ruggery led Bishop Guilfoyle with 12 points — all in the first half — and 10 rebounds. No one else scored more than six points.
“We keep using the word consistency,” Kaack said. “We want to be consistent on both ends of the floor every single night, and I don’t think we’re there yet. There’s still a lot of work to be done, and I know we have a great group in the locker room, so we’re going to keep working.”
Hollidaysburg got a game-high 19 points from Bella Vent, who Jubeck said played her best game of the season. Makenna Weimert added 14 points, and Clare Padamonsky scored 11 for the Lady Tigers.
“I think from start to finish, that’s the Hollidaysburg team that we have been waiting to see since November,” Jubeck said. “We put together a couple of good practices, and this is what we expected today.”
Despite such a great performance, Stevenson thinks the Lady Tigers can improve.
“We played like a team,” Stevenson said. “We knew what we needed to do and got it done. We had a good practice yesterday, so I knew we were going to have a good game. We have the rest of the season to go, so we have to keep working hard and getting better.”
HOLLIDAYSBURG (62): Heim 1 0-0 2, Stevenson 4 0-0 11, Vent 7 3-4 19, Padamonsky 5 1-2 11, Sidney 2 0-0 5, Weimert 6 1-2 14, Steiner 0 0-0 0. Totals — 25 5-8 62.
BISHOP GUILFOYLE (39): Adams 0 0-0 0, Querry 0 0-0 0, Ruggery 5 2-3 12, Petrecca 1 4-9 6, Yeskey 1 4-4 6, Williams 1 2-2 5, Haigh 3 0-0 6, Homan 0 0-0 0, Gofus 1 2-2 4. Totals — 12 14-20 39.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Hollidaysburg 25 15 10 12 — 62
Bishop Guilfoyle 13 7 9 10 — 39
3-point goals: Hollidaysburg 7 (Stevenson 3, Vent 2, Sidney, Weimert); Bishop Guilfoyle 1 (Williams).
Records: Hollidaysburg (10-1); Bishop Guilfoyle (10-2).
Officials: Sean Albright, Cory Widmar, Damon Rickens.
JV: Bishop Guilfoyle, 39-35. High scorers–Layonna Williams, BG, 10; Taryn Leighty, H, 9.
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