Lady ’Canes roll to victory
New Castle (71) Vs. Central Valley (25)
Jan 11, 2011
New Castle’s defense shut down Central Valley for a Section 2-AAA victory.
The Lady ’Canes (4-0, 7-2), ranked No. 3 in the WPIAL in Class AAA by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, allowed just eight second-half points.
“You want to go and do what you have to do on the road,” New Castle coach Jason Rankin said. “It’s nice to get some confidence back.”
LaShauna Brothers paced a balanced Lady ’Canes attack with 20 points and 10 steals. Delvona Dennis and Ja’Nia McPhatter added 13 points each. Dennis pulled down 10 rebounds and McPhatter added six.
Christina Talbert chipped in with 11 markers and seven assists.
New Castle is atop the section standings by a game over Ambridge (3-1, 7-3) and Blackhawk (3-1, 6-4).
“The girls are growing more confident and hungrier,” Rankin said. “We know we have a tough game with Beaver and a tougher game with Ambridge on the road (Jan. 17). I think we’re feeling a lot better about ourselves.”
Central Valley is now 0-4, 3-8.
New Castle returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Thursday when it hosts Beaver in a section matchup. The Lady ’Canes will honor Beth Natale (Stanley) for her 54-point effort on Jan. 17, 1987. Natale is married to former Union and New Castle boys coach Mark Stanley.