The battle for first place in Section 2-AAA wasn’t much of a battle at all.

New Castle dominated Ambridge and remained in sole possession of the section lead. The Lady ’Canes (6-0, 9-2), who had three players score at least 17 points, took control in the second quarter when they were forced to change their defense.

“We picked up some early fouls, so we actually didn’t press,” New Castle coach Jason Rankin said. “We played a zone and that really hurt them in the second quarter when they scored four points. Our size in the zone really caused them problems.”

Christina Talbert the Lady ’Canes with a game-high 22 points and six assists. Ja’Nia McPhatter scored 18, and LaShauna Brothers recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

New Castle led 8-0 and never trailed against a team that’s given it problems in the past.

“We’ve had two tough games down there that last two years,” Rankin said. “So we knew they were going to be tough and we knew they’d be motivated to play. The kids understood the magnitude of the game coming in, and that’s senior leadership.”

The Lady ’Canes held Ambridge (4-2, 8-4) to 14 first-half points. Rachel Deiter led the Lady Bridgers with 10 points.