MIFFLINTOWN - Juniata girls basketball coach Meghan Geedey says that good teams find a way to win even when they don't necessarily play that well.
Friday, that's what Juniata did against Upper Dauphin when the Indians squeaked out a 42-41 win to finish out the regular season with a perfect Tri-Valley League record.
Juniata jumped on top early with a 15-5 lead after the first stanza, but Upper Dauphin came charging back in the second and held Juniata to just one point the whole quarter.
"The first quarter we came out and we played pretty well to start the game, then the second quarter they became defensive and we did not respond to it well offensively," Geedey said.
The score then stayed tight the rest of the game, as Juniata would take a small lead and Upper Dauphin would fight back, but a big steal from Janelle Swartz in the fourth gave Juniata possession with 30 second left in the game.
From there, Juniata took the 41-39 lead off an old fashioned 3-point play from Victoria Varner.
The lead was then extended when Joelle Winey hit a free throw after being fouled on a defensive rebound, and that was it for the Indians as the score moved to 42-39.
Upper Dauphin was able to put up two more points for the 42-41 final, but the Indians rode it out by a point for the win.
Juniata (20-2, 16-0) begins District 6 Class AA play Tuesday when it travels to Tyrone to face off against Penn Cambria.
Girls basketball
Mount Union 65, Williamsburg 34
WILLIAMSBURG - The Mount Union girls ended their season on a strong note Friday, taking a 65-34 win over Inter-County Conference opponent Williamsburg.
"It's definitely a good win. The future looks bright for us," Mount Union coach Jenny Cunningham said, mentioning that Mounting will only lose one player to graduation.
It was just a strong offensive night for the Trojans, as four players ended in double-figures. Leading the way for Mount Union was Ashley Foor with 15. Foor was followed by Tynita White with 14, Aaliyah Gilbert-Walker with 12 and Ashlyn Drake with 10.
"It was a team effort, and that's what you like to see as a coach," Cunningham said.
Mount Union ended its season with an 11-11 overall record and went 7-7 in conference action.
Johnstown Christian 49, Belleville Mennonite 28
BELLEVILLE - In a season where wins have been few and far between, it was not a new experience for Belleville Mennonite when it took a 49-28 loss to Johnstown Christian in girls basketball action Friday evening, but there sure were a lot of highlight for the Trojans despite the final score.
Predominantly was the team-high 18-point effort from Belleville Mennonite's Grace Peachey.
Peachey combined with eight from teammate Mollie Morgan and two from Becky Kauffman to round out the Trojans' scoring for the evening.
"Grace Peachey had an excellent game shooting around the key," Belleville Mennonite coach Ally Zook said.
Another highlight was that although Belleville Mennonite has been struggling with turnovers for much of the season, Zook said her team's intensity was up and she noted an improvement in terms of turnovers.
Belleville Mennonite's best quarter was in the fourth, when the girls put up nine points.
Zook said defensive rebounding was the weakest area Friday.
Belleville Mennonite (2-18) travels to face Johnstown Christian again on Monday.
Boys basketball
Williamsburg 63, Mount Union 55
MOUNT UNION - It was the last game of the season for the Trojans (11-11, 7-7) when they took a 63-55 loss to Williamsburg in Inter-County Conference boys basketball action Friday, drawing their record out to .500 overall and in conference play.
The game started in the Trojans' favor, as they took a 19-14 first-quarter lead, but after a 6-point second-quarter effort the locals fell behind and could never recover.
On a high note, it was a pair of sophomores - Mount Union finished the season with just two seniors - who led the team in scoring, so Mount Union is likely to have these scoring threats back next season.
The leading sophomore was B.J. Loner, who netted six field goals en route to a team-high 12 point finish. Loner was followed by classmate Anthony Gilbert, who finished on the night with 11.
Junior high
Boys basketball
9th grade: Hollidaysburg 39, Mifflin County 28. High scorer, Peyton Reesman 13 points.
8th grade: Mifflin County 11, Hollidaysburg 11. High scorer, Caleb Vega 4 points.
