The first 16 minutes weren't the Neshannock High girls basketball team's finest.

It followed that opening, however, with enough of a push to hand visiting Riverside its first loss of the year, 51-39 on Monday night.

The Lady Lancers (3-0 section, 6-1 overall) trailed 11-4 after the first quarter and were down by nine points heading into the half.

"It was a sloppy start," Neshannock coach Luann Grybowski said. "We turned it over, we missed layups and they jumped out."

Neshannock came out much more prepared in the third quarter, taking a 14-2 advantage, followed by a 25-16 fourth-quarter performance.

"It looked like early on there, were some nerves," Grybowski said. "In the second half, they were gone. It says a lot for their composure. They're young but they took care of the basketball, played defense and hit free throws. You can't ask for much more than that. It was a great team effort. Defensively they all played well."

Aidan Noga led the way with a season-high 19 points, while Carmie Matarazzo posted 18 points and 10 rebounds.