The New Castle High girls basketball team passed another test Saturday.

Shelby Rodgers netted a game-high 20 points to lead the Lady ’Canes to a 55-44 win over Hampton at the Ne-Ca-Hi Field House.

It was a matchup of WPIAL Class AAA section-leading teams. New Castle (14-2) is atop Section 2 at 5-1, while the Lady Talbots (13-3) are pacing Section 1 (8-1).

The Lady ’Canes are ranked No. 2 in the WPIAL by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, while Hampton, the defending WPIAL champions, are ranked No. 5.

“This was a good win for us,” New Castle coach Luann Grybowski said. “Hampton is good and I think we might see them again down the road.

“I thought when it was scheduled it would be a big game to have on the schedule.”

New Castle is 3-1 against teams currently leading their respective sections.

Rodgers, who was 6 of 14 from the field, recorded eight rebounds and three steals.

Jazelle Dennis and JaNia McPhatter contributed 10 points each for the Lady ’Canes. Dennis handed out seven assists with three steals and McPhatter snared five boards and swatted three shots.

Mallory Schaffer tallied 14 points for the Lady Talbots.

New Castle was 18 of 45 from the field, compared to 16 of 49 for Hampton. Both teams struggled maintaining possession, with the Lady Talbots committing 28 turnovers and the Lady ’Canes 17.

“They’re big across the middle and big in the back,” Grybowski said. “They played us in a 1-3-1; I thought in the second half we did a really good job handling it.”

New Castle can secure a playoff spot with a win when it hosts Center at 7:30 p.m. today.