By Andrew Koob
New Castle News

The Shenango High girls basketball team needed some extra time to take a win.

The Lady Wildcats upended Laurel, 52-48, in double overtime in a WPIAL Section 1-AA meeting last night.

“It was definitely a great win just because it was section play alone,” Shenango coach Brian Turk said. “It was a backyard battle between teams that usually go at it. We’re fortunate to come out on top, either team could’ve won it. Angelina (Sibeto) stepped up in the fourth and OT and (Laurel’s Ellen) Shaffer stepped up. A lot of players did a lot of things to win.”

Sibeto led the Lady Wildcats (2-1 section, 6-1 overall) with 19 points and added nine rebounds, five assists and three steals.

“Angelina’s always been a leader, no matter what role she plays,” Turk said. “Her scoring doesn’t always tell what she does and that goes for the other guards. She did more than just score.”

Carolyn Peterson followed Sibeto with 11 points for Shenango.

Shaffer also had 19 points for Laurel (1-3, 3-6) and grabbed 15 rebounds and swatted four shots. Kristin Dicks contributed 12 points and Aleyce Bell tallied 10.

Ashleigh Presnar didn’t record a point, but her defensive presence was felt throughout the game, as she totaled eight boards, four steals and four assists.

“She played a huge role on defense, held Dicks to one point in the first three quarters,” Turk said. “We held Shaffer down to nine in regulation. We knew Shaffer and Dicks were the ones to watch, hats off to all of the girls.”

Both sides found their offense after the half with Shenango leading 13-11 at the break.

Laurel took advantage of two opportunities to extend the game, first on a deep 3-pointer from Shaffer to send the game into the first overtime. Dicks then used a full-court sprint and layup at the end of the first overtime to force another extra period.

The Lady Spartans fought in the second half and in overtime, but the first-half performance left much to be desired from their coach.

“It was good to see them compete in the second half,” Laurel coach Jessica Shevitz said. “If we did the same in the first half we wouldn’t have gone to overtime. To only put up 11 points in the first half was disappointing. We battled back but I don’t’ think we should have gotten to that point.”

The slow start for the Lady Spartans comes on the heels of an a slow start in a 47-31 loss to Slippery Rock on Saturday.

“I’m hoping that these last two games are just fatigue,” Shevitz said. “We don’t play again until the 29th so hopefully we get our legs back and we can find a way to fix the starts to the game. It’s going be a long season if we don’t.”