The Lady Lancers used a strong defensive effort to claim the championship of their own holiday tournament.

Neshannock (10-0) limited the Lady Cardinals (5-2) to 19 points in each half, which was what Lady Lancers head coach Luann Grybowski stressed against the District 10 power.

“It was a quality win. I wanted to keep them under 40, which we did. That was probably the best defensive game we’ve played all year and it came against a good team,” she said. “They have some really nice players.”

Neshannock overcame a height mismatch to earn the win. Cochranton won the rebounding battle, 33-22.

“Even though we were outrebounded, I thought our team defense was the best we’ve played all year,” Grybowski said.

The Lady Lancers held a 17-12 lead after the first and carried a 27-19 advantage into halftime. The Lady Cardinals cut it to 27-25 early in the third, but Neshannock closed the frame with a 16-5 run to push the lead to 43-30.

“We came out a little flat in the second quarter, but I am happy how we responded,” Grybowski said. “It’s nice to be 10-0 at this point. We have to key on some important areas.

“We’re getting outrebounded every game. We really need to stress that part of it. I was happy with only 10 turnovers. I was pleased with the effort. We’ll keep working.”

Madison McHale led the Lady Lancers with 20 points and earned tournament MVP honors. Tayler Grybowski had 16 points and six rebounds. Erin Warvell had nine points and seven assists. Both girls were named to the all-tournament team.

Morghan Egli led Cochranton with 15 points.