The Laurel High girls basketball team couldn’t wait to get back on its home floor.

After dropping a 70-27 WPIAL Section 2-AA decision at Riverside on Monday, the Lady Spartans were looking for a big rebound effort last night.

They got it as they toppled Aliquippa, 69-65, in a nonsection home clash.

“This is a good group of girls when they show up to play. We hustled,” Laurel coach Jessica Shevitz said. “It’s a good win. We proved we can score some points, so that’s nice. We’re definitely playing well.”

Laurel (3-2) led throughout the majority of the contest. The Lady Spartans posted a 22-14 lead after the first and held a 39-31 halftime lead. The Lady Quips (3-3) rallied to gain the lead halfway through the third quarter, but Laurel marched back for a 53-52 edge at the third-period buzzer. The Lady Spartans held off the visitors in the fourth to earn the win.

“I am not happy with that third quarter at all. Aliquippa is a good team and, against a team like that, you can’t open the door and that’s exactly what we did,” Shevitz said. “We had to battle back and the girls did. We’re still making mistakes and we’re still not playing our best game, but this was a nice win.

“I think we had 21 or 22 assists as a team. They played well as a team,” she continued. “It’s a good way to go into the holiday break. It is a little bit of redemption after our loss Monday.”

Brooke Dicks paced Laurel with 18 points and nine assists. Dalainey Meals provided 16 points and six steals. Marisa Wallas contributed 14 points, while freshman Ellen Shaffer had a double-double of 14 rebounds and 13 points.

Nakira Emerson posted a game-high 24 points for Aliquippa. Diamond Dorsett-Ware added 19.