Mar 12, 2025
Photo for the Mirror by Chuck Meyers / Altoona’s Zaelinh Nguyen-Moore drives the baseline against Garnet Valley.
MECHANICSBURG — The Altoona girls basketball team has been plagued by slow starts since the Mid-Penn Conference playoffs began, but the Lady Lions have always found a way to fight back and win both that league championship and the District 6 Class 6A title.
But spotting District 1 runner-up Garnet Valley 23 points to start Tuesday’s PIAA second round game proved to be too much to overcome — despite a herculean effort to do so.
Melana Eyer’s fifth 3-pointer of the game cut Altoona’s deficit to 13 with just under two minutes to play in the game, but Garnet Valley went 8-for-9 from the foul line down the stretch to lock up a 54-38 victory.
“(Garnet Valley) came out, and everyone shot the ball well,” Altoona coach Chris Fleegle said. “Everything went right for them. We struggled to see the ball go in the hoop. There were a lot of turnovers. Something we need to build upon as a team and have struggled with over the years are slow starts. With our slow start and their shooting, it turned into a buzzsaw.”
The Lady Lions outscored the Lady Jaguars, 32-22, in the second half despite Garnet Valley not putting in its substitutes until the final minute, but the hole was too deep.
Photo for the Mirror by Chuck Meyers / Altoona’s Melana Eyer works to get around Garnet Valley’s Kylie Mulholland.
“It’s frustrating,” Fleegle said. “We knew that we could play with that caliber of team, but you can’t spot a team at that level almost 30 points to start the game. We knew we could play with them, but when they are making shots and we’re not getting shots and missing the ones we have, it’s a recipe for disaster.”
Haylie Adamski, who is going to play Division I college basketball at Lafayette, opened the scoring with a 3-pointer — and Garnet Valley never looked back.
The Lady Jaguars forced 11 first-half turnovers, most of those coming in the first quarter, and led 23-0 more than 11 minutes into the game.
“Defense dictated everything,” Garnet Valley coach Joe Woods said. “I think defensively, we shut them down, particularly their big scorers. We did a great job on help defense. We switched when we needed to, and we rebounded well and held them to one shot. We got some steals for some fastbreak points, and we hit some 3-pointers. We had a great first half.”
Eyer’s first 3-pointer with 4:58 to play in the half finally got Altoona on the scoreboard.
Photo for the Mirror by Chuck Meyers / Lady Lion Brionna Hudson shoots over Garnet Valley’s Savannah Saunders.
“I love this team, so it’s going to suck to leave,” Eyer said. “I have loved every minute with them. We have grown so much since my freshman year. This year, we won the Mid Penn championship, which we have never done, and it’s been years since we made it past the first round of the state playoffs. It feels like we had a lot of great accomplishments.”
But with Adamski leading the way, both in point total with 19 and in leadership by calming her team down in the second half as Altoona made its run, the Jaguars held off the charge and will play District 12 third-place finisher Cardinal O’Hara in Friday’s quarterfinal round.
“(Adamski) has been a captain for three years,” Woods said. “She’s very mature and a team player. She just broke the Garnet Valley school record for points and is over 1,800 for her career.”
Eyer scored 14 of her team-high 19 points in the second half and had Mechanicsburg’s softball team — which had come in from a scrimmage — on its feet cheering some of her long distance shots.
“They are a very good offensive team,” Woods said. “They came in averaging around 60 points a game. They average eight made 3-pointers a game, and you saw that in the second half with (Melana Eyer) knocking down shots from 40 feet. That shows what they are capable of.”
Eyer finished her career with an Altoona record of 175 3-pointers, breaking the mark of Kayla DeCriscio earlier this season. Along with fellow senior Lanie Wilt, who left the game with a left knee injury with 40.8 seconds to play in the third quarter and did not return, Altoona established itself as the top team in the Mid Penn Conference.
“They changed the culture,” Fleegle said. “Their work ethic and attitudes — you couldn’t ask for better people. They are both really good players. I love them like they are my kids. I can’t wait to root for them and see them blossom at the next level. They are going to be missed by everyone in the program. I’m going to miss them a ton. They helped me grow as a coach and put the program back where it needed to be.”
Another senior, Lydia Beltz, and Kendall Cogan played a role in the comeback effort with solid play inside in the second half.
“I’m super proud of how we fought back,” Fleegle said. “We won the second half. If we would have gotten one more stop and hit a shot, we had it down to 13. If you get that to 10, even with time winding down, anything can happen. Kendall and Lydia get outshined sometimes. But they have good size and gave us good minutes. Lydia is a senior who will be missed. This has been such a fantastic group, and we have had a fantastic year. I enjoyed every minute with them, and this group put Altoona back on the state level where we belong.”
Eyer and Wilt will both continue their careers at the collegiate level and plan to remain close to the players they helped win 24 games, a Mid Penn Conference championship, a District 6 title, a PIAA playoff game over WPIAL runner-up Norwin and a pair of wins over rival Hollidaysburg.
“It’s not even just on the basketball court,” Eyer said. “Off the basketball court, we’re best friends too. Just hanging out outside of practices and seeing each other get so much better on the court — that’s special.”
ALTOONA (38): M. Eyer 6 2-2 19, Wilt 0 1-2 1, Hudson 2 2-2 7, Nguyen-Moore 2 4-6 8, Harpster 0 0-0 0, R. Eyer 1 0-0 2, Beltz 0 1-2 1, Cogan 0 0-0 0. Totals — 11 10-14 38.
GARNET VALLEY (54): Mulholland 4 2-2 10, H. Adamski 7 4-4 19, A. Adamski 4 2-2 12, K. Adamski 3 0-0 7, Saunders 0 3-6 3, Dwyer 0 0-0 0, Sigston 0 0-0 0, Hunter 0 0-0 0, Zipperlen 1 0-0 3, Leydig 0 0-0 0. Totals — 19 11-14 54.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Altoona 0 6 9 23 — 38
Garnet Valley 14 18 9 13 — 54
3-point goals: Altoona 6 (M. Eyer 5, Hudson); Garnet Valley 4 (A. Adamski 2, H. Adamski, Zipperlen).
Records: Altoona (24-3); Garnet Valley (28-2).
Officials: Michael Nagy, Dave Kmiecik, Gary Anderson.
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