The visiting Lady Lancers were outscored 12-6 in the fourth quarter to suffer their first Section 2-AA loss and first of the season.

Neshannock (8-1, 17-1) held a four-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, but couldn’t hold on.

“We didn’t do enough to finish it out,” Neshannock coach Luann Grybowski said. “We didn’t play well. We had some key turnovers in crucial situations and we missed some layups. We had the opportunity to win at the end. We just didn’t deserve to win.

“We’ve been flirting with this the last three games and sometimes, it comes back to bite you. We didn’t play well against Laurel and got the win. Same with Mohawk. We didn’t play well against Wilmington and got out with the win.”

Riverside (3-5, 6-9) grabbed a 10-4 lead in the first quarter and took a 20-14 lead into the break.

The Lady Lancers switched defenses midway through the game and stormed back to take a 32-29 cushion into the final eight minutes,

“I take the blame,” Grybowski said. “We went to a certain defense and it got us back into the game. They seemed to be getting comfortable, so I switched out to something else. In hindsight, I should have kept us in it.”

Erin Warvell led Neshannock with 17 points, while Madison McHale had 12.

“It takes a lot for a team to stay focused for an entire season and do what you need to do,” Grybowski said. “I tell them every day in practice that one possession means a lot and we had a lot of bad possessions.

“We’ll see what we’re made of and see how we respond. The big thing is how we respond to this. You don’t have to go undefeated. You have to go undefeated in the section. That’s what they look for when determining seeding (for the playoffs). There’s a big difference between the two-seed and the five-seed.”