By JOE SAGER
ncsports@ncnewsonline.com

New Castle High’s girls basketball team has proven it can rally in key situations.

The Lady ’Canes’ latest comeback came Wednesday against Blackhawk as they erased a 13-point deficit in the third quarter to claim a 73-62 overtime triumph.

New Castle, however, will be more than happy to maintain a lead and avoid any late-game heroics at 2 p.m. Saturday when it meets Mercyhurst Prep in a PIAA Class AAA quarterfinal at Edinboro University’s McComb Fieldhouse.

The Lady ’Canes used a late charge last year to beat the Lady Lakers in a PIAA first-round game. New Castle erased a seven-point deficit with 5:36 to go in that game and hung on for a 43-42 win. Coach Jason Rankin knows his squad can’t face another large deficit this year against the Lady Lakers (25-2), who are ranked second in the state by the Harrisburg Patriot-News.

“They are a very good team. We’ve seen them play this year and we escaped by the skin of our teeth last year,” Rankin said. “They had a gameplan to beat us last year. For 28 minutes they executed it, but we pulled it out in the last four minutes. We were lucky.

“We won’t have that luxury this year. We can’t be in that situation because they’ve learned from it.”

This year, the two teams have nearly identical personnel — except for the two top scorers in last year’s game. Mercyhurst Prep’s Autumn Anderson, who had 18 points, graduated, while New Castle’s Kaylynn Waters, who had 15 points and the game-winning layup, remains sidelined with a knee injury.

“We have been able to make do, for the most part, without Kaylynn,” Rankin said. “The core of both teams is back, though. We escaped last year. We turned up the pressure and got some steals and easy baskets. They have probably learned from it and use it as motivation.”

If the game is close, don’t look for the Lady Lakers to lose it at the foul line like Blackhawk did. They converted 15 of 17 from the line, including an 8-for-9 effort in the fourth quarter, in their 47-40 win over Indiana.

“Hitting 8-of-9 in the fourth quarter was the difference in this game,” Mercyhurst Prep junior Kayla Wilwohl told the Erie Times-News. “It would have been a whole different game if we don’t hit those. It can be nerve-wracking at the foul line but you can’t think about it. You just have to shoot them like you are in your driveway.”

Blackhawk doomed itself against New Castle (22-6). The Lady Cougars converted just 5 of 11 free throws in the final stanza as the Lady ’Canes forced overtime and came on strong in the extra frame to earn the win.

“I am tremendously proud. We showed great spirit. We played together. Blackhawk is a very tough opponent,” Rankin said. “I knew how good Blackhawk was all year. For us to respond in a situation like that does make you proud. It was a quality win for the program because we understand what it takes to beat a very good team. We have to bury it and move on.”

New Castle stormed past it first two PIAA opponents — Perry Traditional Academy (63-9) and St. Marys (69-23) — before grinding out Wednesday’s win. Rankin knows tomorrow’s game will be another tough one.

“To advance in the state tournament, unless you’re incredibly gifted, you’ll have to play some tough ones,” Rankin said. “We beat a good team, but we have to put that one behind us if we want to continue on. If we do what we do well, then, I think we are in a good position.

“I think Mercyhurst Prep is more of a setup team that will run a deliberate offense. They’ll be smart with the ball. They will basically outwork you and execute the fundamentals. They play solid man-to-man defense. They are a very strong defensive team. It’ll be different because we’ve seen a lot of zone all year. We haven’t seen a lot of man-to-man. We might be rusty with that. We’ll have to match their toughness, too.”

Senior guard Lindsay Stamp, a Holy Cross recruit, leads the way for the Lady Lakers. A first-team all-state selection last year, she averages nearly 14 points per game. However, Mercyhurst can spread the ball around to Wilwohl (14 points on Wednesday) Amanda Berchtold and Ally Burke, who both had 12 points against Indiana.

“They are just a really good team. I think they can win a lot of different ways,” Rankin said. “Even though they are more of a deliberate offense, they can go out and score some points if they had to.”

The Lady ’Canes feature a balanced attack, too. LaShauna Brothers leads the way at 18.3 ppg, while Christina Talbert averages 15.2 ppg and Ja’Nia McPhatter is at 14.4 ppg.

“I know Stamp played well against us last year and I think she’s a tremendous talent overall,” Rankin said. “But, we have some options to score some points, too.”

Rankin hopes fans will come out again in support of New Castle.

“I am really hoping we can have a heck of a crowd. We are really appreciative of what the crowd was able to do for us Wednesday,” he said. “I think the crowd was a difference maker in the game and it really gave us good energy and got us going.”

The winner advances to the PIAA Western Final to meet the winner of Saturday’s Franklin-Villa Joseph Marie matchup.