JOHNSTOWN —
The Westmont girls basketball team didn’t have time to dwell on a 90-57 loss to undefeated, reigning District 6 Class AAAA champion Hollidaysburg on Tuesday.
Westmont coach Jodi Hillegass said that she doesn’t mind the loss because she believes her team will learn from the challenge.
The Hilltoppers’ (6-3, 4-0 in conference) applied those lessons by beating Greater Johnstown High School 47-32 Wednesday night at home.
“We should’ve been better tonight and we were,” Hillegass said. “Our game (against Hollidaysburg) was a good measuring stick. It showed us a lot. I don’t mind losing. I like those challenging games.”
Aside from Hollidaysburg, Westmont’s two other losses have both come against undefeated, defending 6-AA champion Marion Center in a pair of early-season tournaments.
“We’re getting good games. We’re getting good minutes and we’re working together so we should be happy down the line,” Hillegass said.
For Johnstown (5-3), it was a night of missed opportunities. The Trojans had a number of open looks from the paint but came away empty-handed on too many of those attempts.
“We missed a lot of opportunities, a lot of layups,” Johnstown coach Chuck DiFalco said.
“Westmont shot well from the field, so my hat’s off to them. My girls played hard, but (Westmont) is a tough place to play and Jodi (Hillegass) had her girls ready to play.”
Westmont jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first quarter behind eight points from team captain Alyssa Yewcic. That lead was extended 26-10 in the second quarter when Westmont’s Erin Rodgers hit three 3-pointers. Rodgers finished with 16 points while Yewcic scored 15.
“(Rodgers) had the hot hand in the second quarter and she needed that,” Hillegass said.
“She’s been a little off for a while but she’s getting her confidence back up. And (Yewcic’s) been a great leader for us. She had a career high
34 points last night (against Hollidaysburg) and she’s been doing a great job for us.”
Johnstown’s Tynesha Smith cut into the Trojan deficit in the second half, but the gap proved to be too large as the Hilltoppers cruised to victory.
Smith led all scorers with 19 points in the loss.
“She’s (Smith) a beast in there sometimes,” DiFalco said. “She’s hard to stop and when she finishes she can really be a big scorer. She’s really the energy of the team when she gets going.”
The Trojans are coming off of a 3-19 season, but DiFalco has already seen a turnaround from his team.
“We want to continue to work hard and get better,” DiFalco said. “Hopefully we continue. We’ve just got to work on our chemistry and start clicking as a team.”
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Related Photos
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DAVE LLOYD/THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT Westmont’s Erin Rodgers takes a shot after driving past Johnstown’s Keneisha Wilson (right) on Wednesday at Westmont. Dave Lloyd
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