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Turnovers costly for Huskies

Rittenhouse has sneaky good game for MC

Sentinel photo by MATT STRICKER
Mifflin County's Brianna Bodtorf (35) goes to the basket while being defended by Harrisburg's Alayah Cowan Friday in Mid-Penn Conference girls basketball Friday in Lewistown.

LEWISTOWN — A miserable second quarter combined with 24 turnovers left the Mifflin County girls basketball team on the short end of a 62-31 loss to Harrisburg in a Mid-Penn Commonwealth battle Friday evening.

The Cougars (9-6, 7-4) used their full-court press to perfection, forcing the Huskies into nine turnovers in the second quarter to break open the game. Harrisburg’s quickness led to numerous fast breaks and turned a 9-0 run to start the second into a 27-8 quarter and a commanding 33-12 halftime advantage.

“We have such a small margin for error. If you looked at shots in this game they took a lot more than we did. They got us back on our heels. Quite frankly, their athleticism intimidates some of our kids,” Mifflin County coach Roger Herto said. “You could see some of the younger kids, when they got in there, get back on their heels. Turnovers were the big difference in this game. Overall, I thought the kids kept working, trying to make things happen. I like the way we finished the game. It’s just a real struggle for us athletically against some of these teams. We almost have to play perfect defense to to stay in the game.”

Dajahnae Brannon, a Rider University commit, had 11 points in the second quarter and a game-high 19 for Harrisburg in only three quarters of action. She also had six rebounds, four assists, three steals and a blocked shot. Teammate Jalasia Hull came off the bench to score 10 points, while center Kiarah Singleton-Green had eight points and 11 rebounds.

“Brannon had her way with us. We didn’t do a good job reacting to her. We gave too much respect to some of their kids that we shouldn’t have been worrying about and instead focused on her,” Herto said. “They are a good team. The league is tough at the top, there’s no doubt about it. For us, it’s a year where we’re not at the top, so we’re trying to fight our way, stay in games and be competitive in games. We were competitive. I don’t know if we were ever with them. We were competitive for half of this game but it certainly doesn’t show that in the end. They are just a lot better right now.”

Freshman Mya Aumiller came off the bench to lead the Huskies (5-11, 3-8) with nine points. Despite not making the scoresheet, sophomore Hanna Rittenhouse had a stellar game with 11 rebounds, three assists and a steal.

“Hanna does a little bit of everything. She is a jack-of-all-trades. She’s not flashy. Hanna’s best quality, and I mean no disrespect to her, is she doesn’t take herself too seriously,” Herto said. “She goes out there and plays relaxed. Some of our players don’t play relaxed. They get tense and get too caught up in the moment. For Hanna, the moment is never too big. She relaxes, goes out there, plays to her strengths, plays away from her weaknesses and can really defend people. Hanna has had a very good year for us.”

Mifflin County played tough in the second half as the Cougars out-scored the Huskies only 29-19. Making things more difficult for Herto and his team is the absence of Molly Wagoner and Emma Yeager – his two main inside players.

“We can’t dwell on what we don’t have right now. Unfortunately, they aren’t in there. The reality is, just like playing cards, whatever you’ve been dealt, that’s what you play,” Herto said. “This season, we’ve had a lot of adversity. They say when it rains, it pours. It’s been raining pretty good. I tell them there’s no quick answer. No easy fix. You just have to stay the course and keep fighting the fight. The girls kept fighting in the fourth no matter what the score was. I was pleased with their effort.”

The Husky JV squad improved to 13-3 on the season with a 40-35 win over the Cougars. Mya Aumiller led the team with nine points.

Mifflin County hosts Altoona in a Mid-Penn Commonwealth contest on Tuesday.

Harrisburg 62, Mifflin County 31

HARRISBURG

Dajahnae Brannon 9 1-2 19, Cheyenne Collins 3 0-0 6, Alayah Cowan 2 1-2 5, Deanna Shepherd 3 1-1 9, Kiarah Singleton-Green 4 0-2 9, Destiny Shepherd 1 1-1 3, Jalasia Hull 4 2-4 10, Janiah Cobb 1 0-0 2. Totals: 27 6-12 62.

3-point goals: Deanna Shepherd 2.

Did not score: Kayla Lemelle, Jaa Brown, Adriana Finley, Semajay Smith.

MIFFLIN COUNTY

Fern Silfies 2 0-0 6, Brianna Bodtorf 1 4-9 6, Hannah Aumiller 2 2-4 6, Kaitlyn Knable 0 2-2 2, Mya Aumiller 3 0-0 9, Halle Rittenhouse 0 2-3 2. Totals: 8 10-18 31.

3-point goals: Mya Aumiller 3, Silfies 2.

Did not score: Hanna Rittenhouse, Morgan Weston, Kolbi Knode, Abbie Treaster, Elizabeth Daubert, Sarah Shilling.

Score by quarters

Harrisburg 6-27-16-13–62

Mifflin County 4-8 -11-8 –31

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