BELLEFONTE – The Bellefonte girls lacrosse team hosted Mifflin County in a late morning contest on Saturday. The game would be a cliffhanger, not being decided until the final quarter when Mifflin County managed to muscle out a tight 7-6 win in a thriller against the tough group from Bellefonte.

“I’m very happy with my team. Our defense was strong, our offense did the job when we needed it and we got the “W””, said Mifflin County coach Hillary Worley on the win. “She’s (goalie Joshlynn Tate) definitely showing improvement everyday. This is her first year she is officially in goal.”

In the first half, both team’s defenses took center stage with the Lady Raiders holding a slim 4-3 advantage.

Bellefonte scored first when Alana McNichol hit on an unassisted goal at 11:09. Mifflin County battled right back when the Huskie defense settled in and took the ball up the field, finishing off the play when Mara Gallo hit a blast at 8:29 to tie the contest.

Bellefonte jumped back into the lead on a fast break goal from Lila Dawso, with the team’s second unassisted goal occurring at 2:59 in the first, making it a 2-1 contest. But Gallo tied the game backed up as she hit a tough shot in the middle of the pack with five ticks left in the opening period, a goal that proved crucial in the long run.

After a long possession to start off the period, Bellefonte was stopped by the Huskies defense. However, Taylor Badger stole the ball out of the air and finished things off with an unassisted goal at 9:17. But Gallo and company once again managed to tie things as she aggressively attacked the goal, evening things at three with 6:06 left in the second.

With time running down in the period, the Lady Raiders got a late goal from Aubrey Barnard, giving Bellefonte the 4-3 edge going into the intermission.

Both teams came out strong defensively as they closed down the running lanes to keep from the other team getting the easy look. Mifflin County scored first in the third as Gallo got loose in the crease with a shot at 1:43.

With the clock ticking down in the third, the Huskies got a buzzer beater from Hannah Sharp, giving the Huskies their first lead of the match at 5-4 going into the final stanza.

In the fourth, the Huskies struck first as Gracelynn Beckenbaugh scored off an inbounds pass, upping the Huskies lead to 6-4.

Bellefonte refused to go down quietly, getting the deficit back down to one, as Barnard broke loose and hit on a break away attempt at 6:26 after a steal. But Mifflin County scored to go up by two again via another shot by Gallo, making it a 7-5 lead.

With Bellefonte threatening late, the “Gray and Black attack” held, forcing Bellefonte to call a time out with 3:13 left. With less than a minute left, Dawson came up strong for Bellefonte posting a goal, making it a one-goal contest. But the Huskies held on for the 7-6 thriller.

“This is our second game of the year. We still have a nucleus of freshmen and sophomores that are playing,” said Bellefonte coach Kerry O’ Hara. “We just got to get them more field time and more IQ of the game. We’ve been working on that. Hopefully we can start meshing it and start making a difference. We played hard though. We played the whole 48 minutes.”

The Red Raiders return to action on Monday, facing Lewisburg to close out their three-game home slate to kick off the 2025 season. That match is set for 5:30 p.m.

Mifflin County 7, Bellefonte 6

MC 2 1 2 2 – 7

BE 2 2 0 2 – 6

Scoring: BE – Alana McNichol unassisted, 11:09. MC – Mara Gallo unassisted, 8:29. BE – Lila Dawson unassisted, 2:59 MC – Gallo unassisted, 1:25. (Second quarter) BE – Taylor Badger unassisted, 9:17. MC – Gallo unassisted, 6:04. BE – Aubrey Barnard unassisted 2:40. (Third quarter) MC – Gallo unassisted, 1:43. MC – 27 Hannah Sharp, :01. (Fourth quarter) MC – Gacelynn Beckenbaugh, 7:42. BE – Barnard unassisted 6:26. MC – Gallo unassisted, 4:50. BE – Lila Dawson unassisted :44

Shots: MC – 17, BE – 14. Saves: Mifflin County 6 (Joshlynn Tate); Bellefonte 8 (Ava Hill).