The Laurel High girls basketball team picked up a much-needed victory Monday night.

Caroline Gibson netted a team-high nine points to lead the Lady Spartans to a 40-24 WPIAL Section 1-3A home win over the Lady Tigers.

The win propels Laurel (4-5 section, 9-10 overall) into a fourth-place tie with the Lady Tigers (4-5, 6-10).

"It was a balanced scoring night as a group," said first-year Laurel coach Matt Stebbins. "We needed this win. Hopefully we can get to the playoffs."

Both teams have three league games remaining. Four teams plus ties that can't be broken advance to the postseason. The teams split the season series and both would advance to the WPIAL playoffs if they finish tied.

Janna Conrad collected eight markers for the Lady Spartans and Makenna Collins contributed 11 steals to go with her four markers. Shelby Miles pulled down 11 rebounds with her five tallies.
Island Bradley posted a game-high 19 points for Beaver Falls.
Laurel held the Lady Tigers to single digits in all four quarters.

"It was a great defensive effort," Stebbins said. "As a whole, our defense did a great job; I was very pleased with my girls.

"We controlled the tempo on both ends of the floor."