Local roundup
Slow start hurts Fillies Laurel Highlands was slow out of the blocks Thursday, falling behind to host Ringgold, 12-1, in the first quarter in a 54-46 Section 2-AAAA loss. The Fillies rallied to win the second and third quarter, 28-25, before playing to a 17-17 fourth quarter.
“We were trying to find our way,” Laurel Highlands head coach Rick Hauger said of his Fillies, playing without an injured Lauren Mahoney. “We didn’t find it too well.”
Kayla Ashton was the go-to girl for Laurel Highlands (2-2. 5-3) with a game-high 28 points.
Ashley Campbell helped the Lady Rams (3-1, 3-5) pull into a three-way tie for first with 23 points.
Brownsville 49, Bentworth 34 – The Lady Falcons finally put one up in the section win column with strong first and fourth quarters against the visiting Lady Bearcats. Brownsville outscored the visitors, 16-7, in the first quarter and finished the game with a 12-6 decision in the final eight minutes.
Julia Martini was one of three Lady Falcons in double figures with 16 points. Christina Libertini scored 13 and Amanda Mitchell added 11.
Waynesburg Central 52, Southmoreland 40 – The Lady Raiders pulled away in the second and third quarters at home for a Section 3-AAA victory. Waynesburg (8-1) remains atop the standings with a section record of 4-0. Southmoreland drops out of first place with a 3-1 section record and an overall record of 6-2.
Cigi Wright led Waynesburg with 17 points. Autumn Minor added 12.
Vanessa Abel scored 15 for the Lady Scots.
Geibel Catholic 46, Carmichaels 37 – With the game tied at 20 at the half, the Lady Gators managed to pull away in the third quarter, 14-6, to finish with an important Section 2-A road victory.
Emily Pennington led Geibel (3-1, 4-3) with 15 points.
Megan Stuvak was the leading scorer for Carmichaels (2-2, 3-4) with 10 points.
Avella 63, West Greene 47 – The Lady Eagles remained alone atop the Section 2-A standings with a good effort at West Greene. Avella improves to 4-0 in section play and 8-2 overall. West Greene drops to 1-2 and 1-5.
Rachel Phillips did all she could for the Lady Pioneers with a 32-point performance.
Ashley Midler and Renee Brandenburg both scored 14 points for Avella. Sarah Gossett had 11 and Lisa Mitchell added 10.
Frazier 32, California 18 – The difference was the second quarter when the Lady Commodores outscored the visitors, 14-4, on their way to a Section 2-A victory. Frazier improves to 2-1 in the section and 2-4 overall while the Lady Trojans slip to 1-2 and 1-6.
Two Lady Commodores finished with double-doubles with Emily Null scoring 10 points and grabbing 14 rebounds and Brooke Carson tallying 12 points to go with 14 rebounds.
Cara Wetzell scored six for the Lady Trojans.
Mapletown 37, Jefferson-Morgan 23 – The Lady Maples outscored the visiting Lady Rockets in each quarter for a Section 2-A victory. Mapletown improves to 3-1 in the section and 3-2 overall while Jefferson-Morgan falls to 0-4 in the section and 0-9 overall.
Brittany Buckhalter was the only Mapletown scorer in double figures with 11 points.
Hayley Cratty led Jefferson-Morgan with nine points.
Boys swimming
Derry 92, Laurel Highlands 91 – The score of this non-section meet was as close as it seems with six places decided by less than a second, tipping the points in favor of the home team.
Adam Collins (200 freestyle, 100 butterfly), Dustin Stalnaker (200 IM, 100 freestyle), Aaron Hunchuck (100 breaststroke) and David Johnson (diving) were individual winners for the Mustangs. The 200 freestyle relay team of Jim Tesauro, Eric Wang, Chris Hunchuck and Nathan Flesher was also victorious.
Laurel Highlands (3-2) travels to Connellsville on Tuesday.
Girls swimming
Derry 103, Laurel Highlands 81 – The Lady Trojans took all but two first place finishes on their way to a non-section home victory. Laurel Highlands slips to 1-4 overall.
Keri Smiell won the 50 freestyle in 26.72 seconds with Erin Perry finishing first in the 100 breaststroke in 1:17.94.
Wrestling
Albert Gallatin 39, McGuffey 33 – The Colonials rebounded from Wednesday’s tough 37-36 Section 2-AAA loss with a non-section road victory over the Highlanders.
Charlie Belch (171), Rob Blosser (215), Daryl Shea (275) and Dave Bryson (145) won by fall for Albert Gallatin. Andrew McIntyre (160), Jon Bittinger (112) and Jarod Chapman (140) won decisions while Tom Karpency (189) won by forfeit.
Women’s basketball
California (Pa.) 98, Bloomsburg 52 – Becky Siembak scored 22 and Sameera Philyaw added 21 to lead the Vulcans to their 42nd straight home victory and 34 consecutive over PSAC opponents. Sara McKinney scored 12 and Erin Dillon had 10 in the winning effort. California improves to 9-0.
Men’s basketball
California (Pa.) 102, Bloomsburg 63 – Kevin Handy missed only one shot, a field goal, on his way to a game-high 20 points for the Vulcans.
Michael Johnson and Gerrmar Ballard both scored 18 with Sherman Brittingham adding 10 for the 9-0 Vulcans.