Local roundup: First-place Lady Leopards beat LH, 60-37
Emerson LaCarte made three 3-pointers and scored a career-high 14 points in first-place Belle Vernon’s 60-37 Section 3-4A victory at Laurel Highlands in girls basketball action Thursday night.
Belle Vernon (11-1, 17-3) led 21-12, 43-23 and 59-31 at the quarter breaks.
Saylor Lee added 12 points and Lyla McConnell contributed 10 points and five assists for the Lady Leopards, who have won 11 in a row.
Taylor Schwertfeger tallied a game-high 16 points for the Lady Mustangs (4-7, 6-13), who sit in sixth place, one game out of a playoff spot.
BETH-CENTER 45, CARMICHAELS 32 — Violet Trump racked up a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Alexia Fischer also contributed 15 points with six steals as the Lady Bulldogs beat the host Lady Mikes in a Section 3-2A game.
Trump ended the game with 998 career points. B-C hosts Bentworth Monday on senior night.
Beth-Center led 9-7 after the first quarter and 22-21 at halftime, then pushed their advantage out to 33-28 after three and out-scored Carmichaels 12-4 in the fourth to put the game away.
Bailey Bernot added 11 rebounds for the third-place Lady Bulldogs (5-3, 9-9) and Kyleigh McDaniel chipped in with eight steals.
Ke’Lani Chun topped the Lady Mikes (0-6, 1-16) in scoring with 14 points.
WAYNESBURG CENTRAL 54, MCGUFFEY 47 — Emma Blair and Tess Pauley each scored 16 points as the Lady Raiders took over sole possession of second place in Section 3-3A with a win at McGuffey.
Waynesburg (7-2, 15-2) trails first-place Seton LaSalle by two games. The Lady Highlanders (6-3, 11-8) fell into third place.
The Lady Raiders led 21-17, 30-23 and 41-39 at the quarter breaks before out-scoring McGuffey 13-8 in the fourth.
Maura Janovich paced the Lady Highlanders with 13 points and Eliana Janovich followed with 11.
WEST GREENE 37, BISHOP CANEVIN 29 — The Lady Pioneers maintained their grip on sole possession of third place in Section 2-A with a win over the visiting Lady Crusaders.
West Greene (7-3, 12-5) led 13-9 after the first quarter but Bishop Canevin (3-7, 6-8) surged to a 21-19 halftime advantage.
The Lady Pioneers retook the lead in the third quarter, 28-27, then held the Lady Crusaders to just two points in the fourth to win by eight.
Sammi Zimmerman led West Greene with 11 points and Madelyn Roberts followed close behind with 10.
Isabell Sysak paced Bishop Canevin with 13 points and Kya Cooley added 10.
CALIFORNIA 50, BENTWORTH 38 — Lila Mitchell scored 22 points as the host Lady Trojans took control in the first quarter on their way to defeating the Lady Bearcats in a Section 3-2A game.
California built a 17-6 advantage in the first quarter and led 30-19 at halftime and 44-28 after three.
Hayle Gibson added 12 points for the second-place Lady Trojans (5-1, 8-8).
Alexa Babirad had 15 points for fourth-place Bentworth (3-4, 8-10).
MOUNT PLEASANT 33, SOUTHMORELAND 28 — Ryleigh Drzal scored 15 points and the visiting Lady Vikings out-scored the Lady Scotties 11-5 in the fourth quarter to pull out the Section 3-4A victory.
Mount Pleasant (5-6, 8-10) led 15-13 at halftime but Southmoreland surged to a 23-22 advantage after three quarters.
Danica Trainer added 10 points for the Lady Vikings who are tied with Ringgold for fourth place, one game ahead of Laurel Highlands.
Ashley Seder tossed in a game-high 16 points for the Lady Scotties.
UPPER ST. CLAIR 65, CONNELLSVILLE 39 — Ryan Prunzik had a game-high 24 points in the Lady Panthers’ Section 2-6A win over the visiting Lady Falcons.
Kat Polstyanko had 16 points for Upper St. Clair (4-4, 9-10).
Saige Mickens led Connellsville (1-6, 5-13) with 21 points and Maggie Orndorff added 10.