MIFFLINTOWN — Defense took center stage on Saturday night as two familiar foes renewed their rivalry as the girls basketball teams at East Juniata and Juniata met for the first time this season.

The two teams stood together to officially recognize the heroes who have battled and overcome breast cancer during the Think Pink Contest at Juniata High School in Mifflintown.

The Indians’ defense forced numerous turnovers throughout as they were able to defeat the rival Tigers, 47-26, in Tri-Valley League action.

Juniata’s defense disguised itself and forced timely turnovers to secure the important league victory.

“We were a little excited being a rivalry game,” Juniata coach Hannah Geedey said. “We got a little handsy and got in a little bit of foul trouble, but it’s great to know we got that many turnovers.”

The atmosphere was electric and had an old school vibe to it as seating in the gymnasium was hard to find.

Both student sections were very vocal throughout the night which had the volume numbers at the gym at a high-decible level.

The East Juniata defense was also strong at times as it forced its own amount of turnovers in the match up.

Offensively, the Tigers were led by the strong offensive inside performance of Landyn Cramer. Cramer did a little bit of everything that was asked of her, posting a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds and adding three blocked shots and five steals.

Juniata’s scoring was more spread out with a total of nine players posting points in the scorebook. Juniata was led offensively by Lindsea Gilson with a team-high 14 points. She was followed by Maura Campagna who chipped in nine.

Defensively, the Indians were locked in the entire night keeping the tough and feisty Tiger team to five points in the first, second and third quarters to solidify the win. However in the fourth quarter, East Juniata refused to go down without a fight as they posted 11.

“I thought Landyn played an excellent game on both ends of the floor. I thought she gave it her all offensively and defensively she was kind of the engine that made us go,” said East Juniata coach Laurel Amey. “My kids always play tough. They always play hard. I think for us moving forward it’s how can we play that hard and play a little bit smarter. Our turnovers kind of got us today. They always play hard and want to take that next step forward.”

In the opening period, East Juniata took the first lead of the game as Carolyn Dressler got free behind the three-point line and hit nothing but net, taking a 3-0 lead.

From there, Juniata’s offense took over Grace Reinhold put her team on the board on a runner in the lane. She was followed by personal 5-0 run by Gilson as she notched a steal, a triple and a jumper in traffic to put her team in the lead at 9-3.

Juniata would end the period on a 4-2 run. With the two East Juniata points coming from Cramer. Things continued to roll for the Indians in the second, outscoring the Tigers 10-5 in the quarter.

Going into the intermission, the Juniata held a 21-10 advantage.

The Indians never gave up the lead as they outscored the Tigers 26-16 in the second en route to the lop-sided victory.

Juniata 47 , East Juniata 26

EJ. 5 5 5 11 – 26

JUN 11 10 12 14 – 47

Scoring: EJ – Carolyn Dressler 1 0-0 3, Riley Apple 0 1-2- 1, Landyn Cramer 5 5-12, Madison Snyder 2 0-0 5, Hayley Cramer 1 0-0-2. Totals 9 6-14 26. JUN – Sara Montoya 1 2-2 5, Grace Reinhold 1 0-2 3, Maura Campagna 4 0-0 9, Carolyn Heidenreich 1 0-0 2, Gabby Reed 1 0-2 3, Aubryn Diehl 3 0-2 6, Olivia Mummah 0 1-2 1, Lindsea Gilson 6 1-2 14, Mylee Landis 19 5-14 47.

Played but didn’t score: EJ – Addison Eby 0 0-0 0, Kennedy Strawser 0 0-0 0, Kennedy Seigler-Lewis 0 0-0 0. JUN – None.

Three-Point shots: EJ – Madison Snyder Dressler. JUN – Reinhold, Campagna, Gilson.