EBENSBURG, Pa. – During a half in which Central Cambria’s early lead over Forest Hills yo-yoed to varying margins, a sequence late in the second quarter proved to be the preview for the Red Devils’ third-quarter avalanche.

A 3-pointer by the Rangers’ Morgan Gdula cut the lead to two points with 1:20 remaining in the half. Central Cambria answered with a bucket from Gianna Grimaldi and then a 3-pointer from Rowyn Ruddek to grow the lead to seven points.

A 25-point outburst in the third quarter put the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference West game away as the Red Devils rolled to a 58-35 win over the Rangers Wednesday night at Central Cambria High School.

PHOTO GALLERY | Central Cambria girls dominate Forest Hills 58-35 in LHAC hoops

Central Cambria (7-4), which led 25-18 at half, quickly pushed the advantage to 14 points, with Paige Alexander stringing together five straight points before Grimaldi sank a pair of free throws.

Alexander, who totaled 10 points, added another four during the frame that was punctuated by an Alaina Long 3-pointer just before time expired, as the senior spun her way into space before pulling up with the long-range jumper.

The Red Devils led 50-27 after the third.

“We just talked a lot about playing as a team,” Central Cambria coach Brittany Bracken said. “I think that we have a lot of weapons on this team, and when we play together and play unselfish basketball, good things happen.

“I think my team did that tonight.”

Katie George, who pulled down 19 rebounds, tallied five of her seven points during the third quarter.

George’s defensive presence in the key also led to a trio of blocks and four steals.

Grimaldi yanked down 11 rebounds, while Delaney Snyder added six boards.

“We did know we had an inside advantage,” Bracken said. “We definitely talked about rebounding. I thought that Forest Hills, their best option for scoring was off offensive rebounds and kick-outs for 3-pointers. So we talked about how we need to make sure we control the boards and take that away from them.”

The Red Devils posted the game’s first eight points, with Ruddek knocking down two free throws before Grimaldi poured in two buckets and a pair from the charity stripe.

Gdula, who supplied 17 points to pace the Rangers (4-7), scored her squad’s first bucket with 3:14 left in the period. Gdula tallied eight points in the second quarter, sparking Forest Hills to eventually pull within two points late in the half.

Central Cambria’s early third-quarter push coupled with strong post play proved to be too much for Forest Hills to conquer.

“We had some trouble on the inside,” Forest Hills coach Carol Cecere said. “Central Cambria hit the shots that they needed to in the third quarter. I thought when we went down 10, and then down 12, it was hard to get back.”

The Red Devils never let their guests get over that early hump, nor did they allow the Rangers to fully turn up the tempo.

“We know they want to play fast,” Bracken said. “We can play fast, too, if we want to. If we want to slow it down and work our half-court offense, we can do that, too. So we just tried to control the tempo based on how we were feeling.”

Long, George and Snyder each had seven points in the win as all eight Red Devils players who played scored at least two points.

“Central Cambria came out and played really well,” Cecere said. “They had a great game.”

Paxtyn Pcola followed Gdula’s lead with eight points, while fellow Ranger Aivah Maul chipped in six points. Gdula had six rebounds and five steals in the loss.

Shawn Curtis is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5085. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnCurtis430.