Mar 13, 2025
Photo for the Mirror by Chuck Meyers Assitant Coach Jordan Griffith rallies players on a timeout against York Suburban.
LEWISTOWN — The second-round playoff curse finally has been lifted from the Hollidaysburg girls basketball team.
The Lady Tigers secured their first second-round PIAA victory in 31 years Wednesday night, beating York Suburban 51-37 in a Class 5A game at Mifflin County High School.
Afterward, there was a huge sense of relief among the players and coaching staff.
“Oh my gosh, yeah, it feels great,” senior guard Lauren Stevenson said. “Everyone has doubted us all the time and we’ve had so many chances (to win a second-round game) and I’m glad we finally could do it.”
So were the other two senior guards, Bella Vent and Alissa Heim, who are thrilled to be among the final eight Class 5A teams in the state.
Stevenson, Vent and Heim have helped lead Hollidaysburg to a 97-10 record and four district titles in their four seasons in the program. They trio also forged a 4-0 in the first round of the PIAA playoffs, but were 0-3 in the second round, including that gut-wrenching loss to Oakland Catholic in 2023, until casting aside York Suburban.
“We’ve been saying we wanted to win this (second-round) game for the last four years that we have been on this team, and to do it, it feels awesome,” said Vent, who scored a game-high 14 points.
“It’s really a special moment for us three seniors, no doubt,” Heim said.
With the victory, District 6 champion Hollidaysburg (25-3) advances to the PIAA quarterfinals Saturday against WPIAL runner-up South Fayette (26-2), a 70-41 winner over West York, at a site and time to be determined.
“They’re a good team, but anything can happen,” Heim said. “We just have to keep playing hard. We’re not done yet.”
“At this point and time, when you’re one of the best eight teams in the state, it puts a cap on what we’ve been trying to do with this group since they have been at Hollidaysburg,” Lady Tigers coach Deanna Jubeck said.
In 1994, Hollidaysburg secured a first-round victory over Indiana – just like this season – then beat North Allegheny 61-59 in the second round before losing to Penn Hills 62-49 in the quarterfinals.
In 2021, the Lady Tigers dropped a 71-59 decision to Spring Grove in a PIAA quarterfinal, but the bracket was shortened that year and the first two rounds were eliminated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
District 3 champion York Suburban (24-3), which was coming off its first PIAA victory in 45 years, fell behind quickly against Hollidaysburg, trailing 15-5 after one quarter, and never got any closer than six points the rest of the way.
Vent and Stevenson snuffed out three potential comebacks, with Vent hitting two 3-pointers and Stevenson one. Vent, Stevenson and Heim were a combined 12 of 16 from the free throw line and the Lady Tigers were 19 of 26 overall. Junior forward Makenna Weimert added 11 points.
Forward Natalie Homisak had 12 points for the Trojans, who had two players — Amaya Pope and Julia Gerber – foul out.
“That was a tough one,” Jubeck said. “We knew York Suburban was going to come in and play us really tough. They have a really good defensive strategy.
“We knew that we had to prepare for basically everything — press, zone and man (defense). I think our kids came in very composed and you can tell we are a senior laden team.”
HOLLIDAYSBURG (51): Stevenson 2 3-4 8, Vent 3 6-8 14, Padamonsky 2 0-0 6, Weimert 4 3-6 11, Heim 2 3-4 5, Sidney 1 0-0 3, Lightner 0 4-4 4, Steiner 0 0-0 0. Totals – 14 19-26 51.
YORK SUBURBAN (37): Pope 3 1-2 7, Williams 3 0-0 6, Gerber 2 2-2 6, Homisak 5 2-2 12, Redman 2 2-4 6, Garner 0 0-0 0, Wert 0 0-00, Potts 0 0-0 0. Totals – 15 7-10 37.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Hollidaysburg 15 8 15 13 – 51
York Suburban 5 9 16 7 – 37
3-point goals: Hollidaysburg 4 (Vent 2, Stevenson, Sidney).
Records: York Suburban (24-3); Hollidaysburg (25-3).
Officials: Tracy Cornelius, Scott Campbell, Keith Redfoot.
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