State College girls outlasts M.C.

By rscaife
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Updated: February 24, 2014

WINGATE – In their previous two meeting the State College girls had just enough to defeat the up-and-coming Mifflin County girls basketball team.

The met for a third time Saturday night at Bald Eagle High School to decide who would move onto the second round of the District 6 Class AAAA playoffs.

Despite a valiant effort, the third time would not be a charm for the Huskies as the Little Lions advance to St. Francis to go up against Altoona for the D-6 title.

Early on, Mifflin County went toe-to-toe with their Centre County rivals but it was too much Kyla Irwin and Jalyn Burleigh as the two finished with a 27 and 18-point efforts, respectively.

Mifflin County’s Ashleigh Williams provided the clutch shooting for the Huskies, providing her team a 24-point finish to end her high school career with. Teammates Rebeka Knable, Brianna Cline, Maggie Wilson and Jessa Wright helped with the scoring in a losing effort.

The Huskies were still in striking distance going into the final stanza as they trailed by only 11.

Irwin took the first basket, hitting a strong shot in the paint, upping the lead to 54-40.

Williams cut the lead to 12 when she went right to the heart of the Little Lions defense, making it just a 12-point game

State College began to extend its lead as it got consecutive baskets from Burleigh, making it 58-42 with 5:49 left.

With the lead and the ball, State College began to work the ball and take time off the clock.

However, the never-say-die Huskies continued to battle- going on a 5-2 run, cutting it to 60-47. In the run, M.C. got buckets from Wilson and Williams. Wilson hit a triple while Williams hit 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.

But the Little Lions would finish the game off by outscoring Mifflin County 8-2 for the 19-point victory.

Early on in the contest, State College opened strong as well. The Little Lions went to Burleigh for the first three points of the game.

Williams quickly tied it, plastering a picture-perfect triple, tying it at three with 6:55 left in the period. The Huskies senior finished the game with a total of five treys in the contest.

Irwin, who was held in the two’s previous meeting with 10, got it going early and often posting a triple and a field goal on her team’s next two possessions to extend the lead to 8-3.

Knable broke up the 5-0 scoring spurt with a her first bucket, cutting the S.C. back to three.

Irwin continued her scoring spell, posting a 4-1 run for her team, boosting the Lady Little Lions to a 12-6 advantage.

Mifflin County bounced back to cut the lead to four when Cline battled her way to a tough runner in the lane.

Again Irwin was the focal point as she posted another four point personal run, upping the State College lead to 18-11.

But Mifflin County would have the last laugh of the quarter when Williams hit a jumper, ending the opening quarter score at 18-13 in favor of State.

In the second quarter, the Huskies continued to stay close –keeping the deficit to under double digits and trailing State College 33-24 going into the intermission.

Williams and company battled, scraped and scratched their way back in the third quarter, pulling the contest to as close as five with less than two minutes left in the quarter.

However, State College had an answer for everything that the Lady Huskies could throw at them and went onto to go into the final stanza leading 51-40.

Mifflin County ended its season at 11-11 under first year Huskies coach Roger Herto.