By Joe Simon
New Castle News

Mohawk High girls basketball coach Mike O’Lare was well aware of the much-improved Union team he was up against.

Still, he made sure that was the last thing on the Lady Warriors’ mind last night.

“We’ve played well at times, but we haven’t played four complete quarters yet,” O’Lare said. “We wanted to play four solid quarters and worry more about ourselves than who we were playing.”

The result was a 38-31 nonsection victory for the hosts.

Mohawk (3-3) jumped on the Lady Scots (3-3) right away, taking a 16-3 first-quarter lead. The Lady Warriors didn’t relax either, extending their lead to 25-11 by halftime. Top-scorer Shelby Brown led the way, scoring nine of her 12 in the first half.

O’Lare said finishing off a good team was critical for Mohawk.

“That’s the best Union team I’ve seen in six years. (Union coach) Brian Fadden is doing a great job with those girls,” O’Lare said. “That’s every coach’s dream, to get on them early, because that means your kids are ready to play. That was really important, and I was glad we were able to close it out in the fourth quarter.”

The Lady Warriors kept Union’s top three scorers in check. Savannah Partridge paced Union with nine points, while Marissa Heaney scored eight and Miranda Heaney four.

Taylor Yarletts recorded 10 points for Mohawk, and Katie Hoover grabbed a team-best 14 rebounds.

“We played well defensively,” O’Lare said. “We didn’t turn the ball over, and when they missed, we took off in transition when we could.”