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DuBois Girls Head to Hollidaysburg With PIAA Playoff Berth on the Line in D6/8/9 5A Semifinals

Madison Rusnica is DuBois' leading scores at 7 ppg , Photo by Jared Bakaysa of JB Graphics. See more of Bakaysa's work here

HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. – The task at hand might seem like a tall one for the DuBois girls basketball team when it travels to top-seeded Hollidaysburg for a District 5-6-9 Class 5A semifinal game at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 21, but the reward awaiting the Lady Beavers if they pull the upset is special.

A win, and DuBois is guaranteed two more games – the subregional championship contest against the winner of the Central Mountain/Obama Academy game Feb. 25 at Mount Aloysius and a PIAA playoff game as the subregion gets two spots in the PIAA Tournament.

DuBois (10-12) hasn’t been to the PIAA playoffs since winning the D9 Class 4A title in 1995.

To return to the dance for the first time in 27 years, DuBois is going to have to find a way to turn around a 58-29 loss to the Tigers (21-1) Dec. 20 in DuBois.

That night, Alison Hatajik had 19 points for Hollidaysburg with Marin Miller adding 17 and Sydney Lear 13.

                                      

Izzy Geist-Salone and Sarah Henninger each scored six points for DuBois.

The low score for the Lady Beavers wasn’t unusual considering DuBois averages just 33.5 points per game for first-year head coach Rod Thompson and has been held under 30 10 times in 22 games.

On the other hand, the 58 points put up by Hollidaysburg was 20 more than the Lady Beavers have allowed (38.1 ppg) on average this season and was the second-most points behind Warren’s 59 scored against DuBois on the season.

But then again, Hollidaysburg is good, like really good.

The Tiger won their first 21 games only having a perfect regular season spoiled by Tyrone, who beat them 68-61 Thursday.

                          

Hollidaysburg, which has been to the PIAA playoffs in each of the last four seasons, averages 65.9 ppg.

DuBois, meanwhile, doesn’t have a player scoring more than Madison Rusnica’s 7.0 ppg. Izzy Geist-Salone adds 5.0 ppg, but no one else even cracks four points per contest.

Last year, Hollidaysburg beat DuBois, 66-43, in the semifinals at Hollidaysburg behind 26 points from Miller.

                       

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