The Lady ‘Canes struggled in the fourth quarter in dropping a 62-50 Section 2-AAA home contest with the Lady Bridgers.

Ambridge led 50-44 after three quarters before outscoring New Castle (4-8, 5-14) 12-6 in the final period to pull away. The Lady Bridgers held a 34-30 buffer at the break.

“Ambridge went to a 2-3 zone going to the third quarter,” said first-year Lady ‘Canes coach Maria Joseph. “We got looks in the third quarter, but we weren’t knocking down our shots in the fourth quarter.

“We had our chances, but we had a little bit of a drought. We played hard. I told the girls we were right there. I’m proud of them; a couple of more baskets and we’d have been there.”

The Lady Bridgers (11-1, 16-3) won the first meeting, 62-30, on their home floor. But Joseph’s squad was determined to have a better showing in the rematch.

“We made a goal,” Joseph said. “Down there, they mercy-ruled us. We wanted to come into this game with a lot of energy and give them a game.

“We did a lot of good things and it worked for us.”

Jaidyn Eggleston paced the Lady ‘Canes with 18 points and Kayla Harvey tossed in 17 with 10 rebounds. Lindsay Frabotta followed with nine markers and eight boards.

Sydney Rabold recorded a game-high 22 points for Ambridge.