Feb 15, 2025
Maurie Querry works against Jillian Sidney Friday night in the LHAC final.
By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
Just over a month ago, Hollidaysburg’s girls basketball team came into Bishop Guilfoyle Academy’s Pleasant Valley gymnasium and sent a message with a 23-point victory.
The Lady Marauders had a response Friday night in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference championship game at Penn State Altoona’s Adler Arena.
Bishop Guilfoyle had an answer for every Bella Vent fourth-quarter basket and finally broke away by scoring eight of the game’s final 10 points in a 52-46 victory.
“We really struggled the first time we played them, and they played really well,” Bishop Guilfoyle coach Kristi Kaack said. “We didn’t play to our true potential. We talked about improving our transition defense to contain penetration, and I felt like we did a much better job with that than we did the first time we played them.”
In doing so, the Lady Marauders knocked off the top seeds in the upcoming District 6 Class 5A (Hollidaysburg) and Class 2A (Bishop McCort) on consecutive nights as they begin pursuit of their second straight District 6 and PIAA Class 1A championship when the playoffs begin on Monday.
“I have seen so much growth in these kids, even from the beginning of the year,” Kaack said. “Now, we’re trying to change our mindset that it’s a new season with postseason play coming up. It’s really great to see them perform like this on a stage like we had tonight.”
Bishop Guilfoyle played with two new starters — freshmen Layona Williams and Mary Haigh — than it had in the first matchup due to injuries, but the duo combined for 11 points and six rebounds and made several key plays when the game got tense.
“I think we’re playing really well as a team right now,” BG’s Maurie Querry said. “I think (Williams and Haigh) have fit right in. Defensively, they are great. They bring excitement to our team.”
Williams was hurt to begin the season, and Haigh was coming off the bench.
“They are two freshmen that certainly don’t play like freshmen,” Kaack said. “On a stage like this, again, they didn’t look like freshmen. They were ready to step in. We felt like that all year. We’ve had a lot of injuries and kids in and out of the lineup, but we feel like the next girl up is always going to be ready.”
Anberlyn Petrecca led the Lady Marauders with 17 points and seven rebounds. Her 3-pointer with 4:01 left gave Bishop Guilfoyle the lead back after Vent scored four straight points to give Hollidaysburg a brief 41-39 lead.
Vent answered Petrecca’s trey with one of her own after creating a second possession for Hollidaysburg by getting a rebound on the ground and dribbling to keep it alive before passing it out, getting it back and hitting the shot.
“She’s a special kid,” Hollidaysburg coach Deanna Jubeck said. “They were guarding some people a little bit differently, so we knew that we had an advantage there. She did a good job hitting some shots and keeping us in the basketball game.”
Vent finished with a game-high 20 points but missed a pair of free throws with 3:11 to play before BG ended the game going 8-for-10 from the foul line to seal the win.
“We wanted it really bad,” Petrecca said. “We knew they were going to come out with the same amount of intensity. We knew we had to come into the game with a stronger mindset, and I think we did just that.”
The Lady Marauders improved to 22-2 and will play Juniata Valley at home in the Class 1A playoffs on Monday.
“I welcome the day off tomorrow,” Kaack said. “We have a short turnaround getting back at it Monday, but I definitely think the kids will enjoy a day’s rest. We’ll enjoy it tomorrow and get back to work Sunday.”
Hollidaysburg seemed to take control of the game midway through the second quarter when Vent’s layup put the Lady Tigers up by seven points, but the Lady Marauders ended the half on a 10-0 run.
“It started on the defensive end,” Querry said. “We knew it was going to come down to the little things, and that’s what we focused on.”
Hollidaysburg will begin the District 6 Class 5A playoffs with a semifinal game at home Tuesday against Central Mountain.
“We were looking for a game like this down the stretch to help us refocus and get back in the gym to get ready for the District 6 playoffs,” Jubeck said.
BISHOP GUILFOYLE (52): Querry 3 4-4 11, Ruggery 3 5-8 11, Petrecca 6 4-6 17, Williams 2 0-0 5, Haigh 2 2-2 6, Homan 1 0-0 2, Gofus 0 0-0 0. Totals — 17 15-20 52.
HOLLIDAYSBURG (46): Heim 1 2-2 4, Stevenson 2 0-0 5, Vent 8 3-6 20, Padamonsky 4 1-2 9, Weimert 2 2-2 6, Steiner 1 0-0 2, LIghtner 0 0-0 0, Sidney 0 0-0 0. Totals — 18 8-12 46.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bishop Guilfoyle 13 14 6 19 — 52
Hollidaysburg 11 13 9 13 — 46
3-point goals: Bishop Guilfoyle 3 (Querry, Petrecca, Williams); Hollidaysburg 2 (Stevenson, Vent).
Records: Bishop Guilfoyle (22-2); Hollidaysburg (21-3).
Officials: Vicki Markiewicz, George Figura, Tyler Fink.
Men: Washington at Penn St. SATURDAY Tipoff: 2 p.m., Jordan Center, University Park Records: Washington …
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