DuBOIS — The DuBois Christian School women’s basketball team entered Tuesday’s game against the Allegheny Christian Athletic Association’s West Division, leading Johnstown Christian in hopes of sealing a berth in the conference tournament .
The two teams played out a tight 35-30 game at Johnstown Christian on January 24, but a repeat performance never materialized on Tuesday as poor shots plagued the Lady Eagles in a 30-16 loss.
Defense was no problem for DuBois Christian, who won the turnover battle, 21-19, and held the Lady Blue Jays to 30 points for the second time this season. No other ACAA West Division team has done this this season.
Only two other schools outside the league have held Johnstown Christian under 4-0 – ACAA East Division member Meadowbrook Christian in a 50-36 victory and PIAA District 6 member Glendale in a 61-31 win.
Johnstown Christian (16-2, 10-0 in ACAA West) is a member of both ACAA and PIAA, playing in District 5, and is 3-1 against PIAA opponents this season.
With the loss, DuBois Christian (13-5, 5-5 in the ACAA West) found himself tied for third place in the West Division with Calvary Christian Academy of Huntingdon. The teams, which have shared their regular fixtures (each won at home), will play at 1 p.m. today in Altoona and the winner will advance to the ACAA Tournament.
The loss also ended a difficult second half of the season for DuBois Christian after a 10-day layoff in mid-January due to COVID-19. The Lady Eagles were 9-0 before that layoff, then went 4-5 when they returned to action.
“They (Lady Jays) usually score in the mid-40s to mid-60s in the league, and we’re the only team that can hold them like that,” said DuBois Christian School coach, the Pastor Mark Montgomery. “We played great defense and had a big rebounding advantage early on. It’s just that we were that (an inch) apart every time. We were probably under 10% shooting tonight.
“It should have been a barn burner instead of what it was, but the girls worked hard and didn’t get discouraged and didn’t give up. It was the best intensity our girls had all the time. year, and this team (Lady Jays) brings out the best in us.
“It was just one of those nights where everything (the shots) was just a bit short, which meant they were backing off a bit. We kept telling them, you have to lean on this shot. Now, we are going to play (today) at a neutral site and whoever wins this game goes to the playoffs, we have already defined our strategy tonight for that.
Points came as a bonus for both teams in the first quarter, with the Lady Blue Jays winning the first eight minutes 6-3.
Alana Hinton of Johnstown Christian scored the first two baskets of the game, which came only 12 before and 11 seconds after the middle of the quarter. Her teammate Kasmira Mack then added her own hoop just after the 2 minute mark.
The Lady Eagles finally got on the board when Rorrie Maynard went 1 of 2 at the line with 1:03 on the clock. Teammate Lily Shenkle landed the team’s first hoop in the dying seconds of the quarter to make it 6-3.
DuBois Christian couldn’t sustain that momentum in the second quarter, however, as the Lady Blue Jays took control of the game in the period by outscoring the Lady Eagles 12-1.
Unity Miller did most of that damage, as she scored nine of her game-high 14 points in the quarter. DuBois Christian’s only point came on an Ella Shenkle free throw with 6:18 left in the half.
The defense, combined with poor shooting from both sides, continued to be history in the second half. Johnstown Christian won the third, 8-4, while DuBois Christian turned the tables in the fourth and won the final eight minutes by that same number of 8-4.
Lady Eagle Grace Deitch scored her five points in the second half to lead DuBois Christian into the final two quarters, while Ella Shankle added a pair of baskets to tie Deitch with five points.
DuBois Christian’s only other points in the second period came on a free throw by Emily Deitch in the third and a field goal by Hannah McCabe in the fourth.
Brookville 9 7 9 7 — 32
Alayna Haight 4 2-2 14, Elisa Molnar 0 0-0 0, Elizabeth Wonderling 2 5-5 10, Reggan Olson 0 0-0 0, Eden Wonderling 0 1-2 1, Jordan Cook 2 3-6 7, Kerstyn Davie 0 0-0 0, Mara Bowser 0 0-0 0, Tayler Rafferty 0 0-0 0. Totals: 8 11-16 32.
Allie Snyder 3 0-1 6, Abby Geist-Salone 1 0-0 3, Isabella Geist-Salone 2 0-0 4, Brooke Chewning 1 0-0 2, Sarah Henninger 2 1-5 5, Abbie McCoy 1 0-0 2, Madison Rusnica 7 4-6 18, Alexas Pfeufer 1 0-0 3, Gabby Orzechowski 0 2-2 2, Kam Fontaine 0 0-0 0, Teegan Runyon 0 0-0 0, Maddy Orzechowski 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 7-14 45.
Three points: Brookville 5 (Haight 4, Elisabeth Wonderling), DuBois 2 (A. Geist Salone, Pfeufer).
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