The game was delayed as the result of double overtime in the District 6 AAA championship game, during which Lewistown defeated Johnstown 69-66.

State College coach Bethany Irwin said Altoona played extremely well in a game that could have gone either way.

"I'm just relieved that we're cutting that net down," Irwin said. "It was a tough one."

Second-seeded Altoona scored the first point of the game with a free throw from Jenna Burkett and maintained the lead until halfway through overtime. The game was tied twice, once at 11 points near the end of the first period and again at 51 points at the conclusion of regulation play.

Lady Little Lion Nicole Scipione scored six of her nine points in the first quarter in addition to the first of four three-pointers from Sarah O'Shea, who finished the game with a team-high 14 points.

Altoona's Amanda Pierce added a three to six points from Burkett, ending the first quarter 13-14 Altoona.

The second period started slowly with the first two points coming from Pierce more than 70 seconds into the quarter. Pierce turned a bucket into a three-point play and added four free throws, contributing nine of her game-high 21 points.

Altoona reserve Lindsey Bush was the only other scoring Lady Lion in the second quarter, adding seven of her 13 points to Pierce's nine.

Lady Little Lion reserve Liz Miller accounted for four of State College's nine second-period points. Suzy Carlson nailed a pair of free throws, but the Lady Little Lions fell short, trailing Altoona 22-30 at the half.

Irwin said she was disappointed with her team's performance in the first half, giving much credit to Altoona for coming out strong from the beginning.

"We stunk the first half," Irwin said. "We really did. We played like it was our second game of the season."

State College narrowed the gap to five points by the end of the third quarter, outscoring the Lady Lions 16-13. Katlyn Stupar sank a three and nailed two free throws, chipping in five of her 10 points in the third period. O'Shea added a three to four points from Carlson and a pair of free throws from Miller.

A three from Pierce followed two buckets each from Bush and Lady Lion Erin Dodson and gave Altoona the 38-43 advantage at the quarter break.

Altoona's fourth quarter points came to a halt at eight with two buckets from Pierce and one each by Bush and Dodson.

Carlson made two from the line and added a bucket to round out her game with 12 points. Miller helped Scipione add two points to a three from O'Shea before Liz Gabrielle's bucket tied the game at 51 with 1:18 left in the fourth quarter.

Both teams remained scoreless for the remainder of the period, necessitating a four-minute overtime period.

State College encountered foul trouble when Carlson received her fifth and final foul just over 30 seconds into overtime.

Irwin said the level of calmness maintained by her team was evidence of the confidence they have in each other.

"To have a point guard go out, that's pretty hard," Irwin said. "I was just relieved that we handled the pressure."

O'Shea sank a key three-point shot halfway through overtime, breaking the tie 54-51 and giving State College the lead for the first time in the game.

Burkett responded from behind the arc for Altoona with just over a minute to go, tying the score at 54.

With 25 seconds remaining, Scipione made one of two foul shots to give the Lady Little Lions the 55-54 lead. Altoona maintained possession for much of the final 25 seconds, but State College's defense proved to be too much for the Lady Lions.

Altoona returned from its final timeout in possession of the ball with five seconds left but failed to shoot or draw a foul before the buzzer.

Irwin said the Lady Little Lions are anxious to find out who their opponent will be in the PIAA first round but plan to take advantage of the down time before Friday's game.

"We've got some days where we can do some preparation," Irwin said.