Lady ’Canes top Seton-La Salle
New Castle (75) Vs. Seton-La Salle (57)
Dec 22, 2009
The New Castle High girls basketball team went a week between games and it showed last night.
The Lady ’Canes led by just four points at the half before pulling away for a 75-57 win over Seton-La Salle.
New Castle, which is ranked No. 1 in the WPIAL in Class AAA, claimed a 74-63 verdict over North Catholic on Dec. 14. Foul weather postponed the Lady ’Canes’ game Saturday against South Park, keeping the team idle for a week.
The Lady ’Canes put it together in the fourth quarter, using a 13-0 run to stretch a 52-45 advantage to 65-45.
“We were rusty,” said first-year New Castle coach Jason Rankin. “I wasn’t happy with our effort early.”
Kaylynn Waters registered a game-best 20 points with six assists and five steals for New Castle (4-0), while JaNia McPhatter and LaShauna Brothers contributed 14 markers and seven rebounds each.
Zynieckia Bester tallied 11 points for the winners.
“Bester played really well off the bench,” Rankin said. “She hustles and plays hard; she’s a great defender. She gave us the push we needed.”
Emily Mas netted 16 points for the Lady Rebels (3-2).
New Castle returns to action at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow when it hosts former section rival Butler (2-4), which is ranked No. 3 in the Class AAAA poll. Lady Tornado standout Olivia Bresnahan is a Florida State University recruit.
“We have to keep working,” Rankin said. “We have a quality game with Butler coming up and it’s no easy one.
“They probably have the best player on the western half of the state on their team. They know us and we know them. It should be a good test to see where we’re at.”