The Neshannock girls basketball team got in the win column Monday afternoon as it bounced back from a loss two days earlier to state power Bishop Guilfoyle at the Holiday Bash in Butler.
But Fox Chapel gave the No. 1 team in the Triblive HSSN Class 2A rankings all they could handle in the first round of the St. Joseph Holiday Tournament at Walter Dlubak Athletic Center.
The Lancers overcame 26 turnovers and determined Foxes players who themselves were hoping to rebound from a loss to rival Franklin Regional two days before Christmas.
Payton Newman and Sophia Bonner led Neshannock with 18 and 17 points, respectively, as the Lancers held off Fox Chapel, 59-45.
“It felt good to get that win,” veteran Lancers coach Luann Grybowski said. “I challenged the girls with a very difficult nonsection schedule. Fox Chapel is 5A, and there is a difference in play. They play hard and aggressive. They hustle, and there are some very quick kids out there. We don’t see a lot of that in 2A.”
Neshannock returns to St. Joseph at 6 p.m. on Tuesday against St. Joseph in the championship game. The Spartans defeated Bishop Canevin, 52-24, in the second game Monday.
“It’s good to have the opportunity to play a couple good games before we get back to the grind of the section,” Grybowski said.
Fox Chapel will come back Tuesday against Bishop Canevin in the consolation game at 3 p.m.
“This was a great opportunity for us,” Fox Chapel coach Marty Matvey said. “I told the girls that Neshannock is a perennial playoff and championship contender. It was a great chance to see where we are and how we’ve improved as a team. It will help us see some things to where we can win those close (section) games in January. Instead of losing to Franklin Regional in a tight game we should’ve won, we can be ready to beat them the second time around. Hopefully, we can take care of business (Tuesday) and then come back with momentum against a pretty good Armstrong team (next Tuesday).”
Neshannock led by 11 at halftime, but Fox Chapel adjusted and came out strong in the third quarter. Foxes senior guard Lyla Jablon hit a 3-pointer, converted a layup off a turnover and added a bucket off a steal to close the deficit to 32-28 with seven minutes left in the quarter.
The Lancers tried to pull away in the third, but Fox Chapel stayed close.
“This is a game of runs. It always is,” Grybowski said. “We talk about those important parts of the game. The first few minutes of the third quarter killed us. They hit a few shots, and we were turning the ball over. I had to call a timeout, which I don’t like to do. We needed to come out ready to play in the third. In our losses (Blackhawk, Seneca Valley, Bishop Guilfoyle), rebounding and turning the ball over were our weaknesses.”
Newman, in addition to her double-digit scoring effort, pulled down 14 rebounds.
She scored seven of her 14 in the third quarter and added a key jumper in the fourth to extend the Lancers’ lead to 53-43 with about three minutes left.
“We got her the ball in the middle a little bit more, and she responded.” Grybowski said.
“She needs to move with the ball a little bit. She made good cuts to the basket. When she gets the ball in the paint, she’s going to score eight out of 10 times, and that is really good for us.”
Bonner hit five 3-pointers for 15 of her 17 points. She hit a pair from beyond the arc in the fourth to help Neshannock pull away.
Fox Chapel got as close at five points at 48-43 with 6:04 left. Bonner then sank the second of her two treys in the fourth to extend the advantage back to eight.
Jablon led her team with 26 points, three steals, and seven rebounds. She scored 10 in the first and 12 in the third. She could’ve had more, but she was 5 of 12 from the free-throw line in the first half.
Fox Chapel missed 13 foul shots and turned the ball over 19 times.
“There was five minutes in the game, collectively, that I would like to have back where we weren’t making the right choices,” Matvey said.
“We just have to be more consistent. We made some good adjustments, but we have to clean up a lot of the self-inflicted stuff. But these girls fought. They take on my personality. We were out-sized (against Neshannock), but they hustled and played with intensity. They are such a coachable group, and that is going to help them win some big games.”