By Joe Simon
New Castle News

The Mohawk High girls basketball team was used to this kind of game.

That translates to a low-scoring, defensive-oriented encounter that goes down to the wire. It’s been like that all year for the Lady Warriors, and like so many others, they found a way to win.

Mohawk outlasted Neshannock, 57-51, in overtime of a WPIAL Section 2-AA road game last night, clinching a playoff berth for the Lady Warriors.

Mohawk (7-4 section, 16-5 overall) trailed by six entering the fourth quarter, but fought back to tie the game at 45 with 30 seconds remaining. Neshannock (4-6, 8-12) misfired on a last-second shot and the game went into overtime. The Lady Lancers took an early lead on a 3, but things went downhill from there.

Led by Katie Hoover, who scored 10 of her team-high 12 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, Mohawk closed the extra session on a 9-2 run.

“We’ve done that quite a few times this year,” said Lady Warriors coach Mike O’Lare of his team’s comeback. “They were doing some different things defensively that gave us problems, and we never actually had the lead until about a minute and a half left in overtime. But they just keep playing, and you don’t see any quit in their eyes. They always believe they have a chance to win, and somehow we come out with it.”

Hoover earned a double-double with a team-best 11 rebounds. Shelby nearly matched her with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Lucia Fee, who hit a big bucket in OT, added eight points and seven rebounds.

Neshannock’s Madison McHale led all scorers with 23 points and added five rebounds. Alexandra Fischer posted 13 rebounds to go along with nine points. The Lady Lancers led the entire game and were up, 36-30, entering the fourth quarter.

“I thought we outplayed them for three quarters, but just not when it counted,” Neshannock coach Luann Grybowski said. “We had turnovers on some key possessions and didn’t box out on a few key possessions. We let this one get away.”

The win means Mohawk secures third place in the section with a win over Shenango (0-11, 0-21) on Thursday. The Lady Warriors have won 14 of their last 16, but were coming off a setback to New Brighton (7-5, 11-7), which was right on their heels in the standings.

“We always talk about trying to get in as soon as possible, and we kind of stumbled last week against New Brighton,” O’Lare said. “We probably could’ve limped in even if we lost, but tonight officially confirmed it. Now we don’t have to worry about any kind of help.”

New Brighton’s win over Laurel last night ended Neshannock’s hopes of a playoff berth.

(Email: j_simon@ncnewsonline.com)