Laurel secures playoff berth
Laurel (51) Vs. New Brighton (24)
Feb 01, 2014
Laurel clinched a playoff spot with a 51-24 Section 2-AA win over New Brighton last night.
The playoff appearance will be the first for Laurel (7-3, 12-7) in 15 years, according to Lady Spartans coach Jessica Shevitz.
Laurel (7-3, 12-7) holds a two-game lead over Riverside (5-5, 8-9) with two games remaining. The worst the Lady Spartans could finish is in a fourth-place tie with the Lady Panthers and the teams split their two section meetings, so both squads would qualify for the playoffs.
“This clinched a playoff spot for us, but we’re not looking that far ahead,” Shevitz said. “We have to focus on next week. We have Shenango on Monday and it’s our senior night. Shenango is our crosstown rival. Our districts neighbor each other, so it’s a healthy rivalry. We have Neshannock on Thursday and that game was close. Those are big games and we want to finish strong in the section.
“It’s been a long-time coming. The girls have worked and they’re excited. This is a tough section. It’s just good to get back on track.”
Laurel struggled in the early going, holding a slim 7-5 lead entering the second quarter.
“We had a slow start and that’s not good enough for a playoff team,” Shevitz said. “We need to get back in sync.”
The Lady Spartans outscored New Brighton (0-11, 1-16) 33-9 over the middle two quarters.
“In the second and third quarters, we played much better,” Shevitz said. “At the end of the first quarter, I asked them ‘Do you want this or not?’ They were like ‘Yeah!’ I told them they better play like it.
“This was a nice bounce-back game. We definitely needed this. It’s never been an issue with desire. I think they got bogged down and needed to get moving again. Once we got moving, we were fine.”
Jessica Conrad finished with a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Kristin Dicks chipped in 11 points and six steals.