Stacy Alexander still clearly recalls a cherished experience.
The former St. Francis basketball player was a member of the Red Flash team that first earned a trip to the NCAA tournament in 1996 when playing for former coach Jenny Przekwas. Now an assistant coach at Towson University, Alexander, who has scored more points than any girl at Portage Area High School, recalled her experience as a senior at St. Francis.

Northern Cambria finally gets to pick on someone its own size.
The Colts (22-5) have advanced to the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class A girls basketball tournament with an athletic but undersized team. They’ll face a similar squad in District 2 champion Old Forge (18-6) at
2 this afternoon at Mifflinburg Area High School.

Seventeen days have passed since the last time Conemaugh Valley and undefeated Bishop Guilfoyle met in the District 6 Class A girls basketball semifinals.
Blue Jays coach Teri Cruse said her team has a short memory when it comes to that one-sided 66-32 setback. Conemaugh Valley (20-6) has been a different team since then, winning three consecutive games including a pair in the PIAA Tournament.

Kevin Jones scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half to lead second-seeded West Virginia to a 77-50 victory over No. 15 seed Morgan State in the the East Regional of the NCAA tournament on Friday.

Local swimmers struggled during the first day of the PIAA Class AA Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday at Bucknell’s Kinney Natatorium.
Westmont Hilltop’s Ray Ward was the highest local finisher, as he placed 15th in the preliminary round with a time of 1:48.01 in the 200-yard freestyle. His time dropped to 1:48.47 in the consolation finals, as he finished 16th.

Josh Beckett pitched 31⁄3 innings after missing his last start because of an illness, allowing four runs on six hits as the Boston Red Sox lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-7 on Friday.

The Cambria County Sports Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2010 on Thursday.
The six-member class will be honored during a banquet on July 17 at the Frank Pasquerilla Conference Center.
Additionally, five scholastic teams from the region will be recognized during the banquet for accomplishments on the statewide level, with one of those teams dating to the 1965 season.

When the Pitt men’s basketball team received the No. 3 seed in the West Region for this year’s NCAA tournament and got its first-round matchup, many Panthers never heard of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies and certainly didn’t know the Summit League champions were located in Michigan.

While many of the area’s swimmers have already come out of the pool for the season, a small group is still persevering as they prepare for this weekend’s PIAA Class AA championships at Bucknell University.
The largest area contingent of swimmers at the state championships, which begin today, are from Westmont Hilltop High School.
The Hilltoppers have established a tradition of excellence when it comes to their swimming program even without having their own home pool. They practice 45 minutes a day at the YMCA and swim their meets at Pitt-Johnstown.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 17 saves for Pittsburgh’s first shutout of the season in the Penguins’ 3-0 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.
After their much-anticipated retaliation against Matt Cooke, the Bruins showed little passion despite fighting for a playoff berth. They are eighth in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of the New York Rangers and Atlanta for the final spot.

The Cincinnati Cyclones scored three second-period goals to break open a tie game and steamroll over the visiting Johnstown Chiefs 7-1 on Thursday night.
The North Division-leading Cyclones notched their 40th victory of the season against the league-worst Chiefs, who are playing out the string before the team moves to Greenville, S.C., next season.
Cincinnati outshot the Chiefs 20-2 in the decisive second period.
Somerset Area High School graduate Cullen Eddy signed with the Cyc

Justin Morneau and Jim Thome returned to the lineup for the Minnesota Twins, each following four days of rest.
Thome didn’t take long to shake off the rust.

The Conemaugh Valley Blue Jays jumped out to a big lead Wednesday night at Hollidaysburg High School, and then saw Tussey Mountain charge back to tie the game.

Forest Hills coach Carol Cecere took extra time to address her team after Wednesday’s 53-44 loss to West York.