Tigers use big fourth quarter to slip past Seneca Valley
by: Jonathan Spina
It was a slow start for North Allegheny on Thursday night at UPMC Court but the Tigers found their rhythm in the fourth quarter and got by with a 59-46 win over the fifth-ranked Seneca Valley Raiders.
It was all Seneca Valley in the first quarter as they scored the first six points of the game and jumped out to a 9-1 lead. North Allegheny made up a little ground but the Raiders had the 15-8 lead after a quarter of play. Things looked like they were going to go the Tigers way in the second quarter as they started the frame on a 7-2 run cutting the deficit to two points but Seneca Valley would start to hit shots again and took a 31-23 lead into the half. Sophomore Natalie Hambly was the catalyst for the Raider offense the first half as she had 16 points.
Seneca Valley got the lead up to nine points in the third quarter which would be their biggest lead in the game but North Allegheny started to chip away, getting it down to six by the end of the quarter and went into the fourth trailing 42-36. The final frame was all Tigers. Down 44-43 with five minutes to play in the game, Kellie McConnell got a steal and went coast to coast to give North Allegheny their first lead of the game at 45-44. That would be the only lead change in the game as North Allegheny was able to expand the lead from there, outscoring Seneca Valley 23-4 in the final frame and winning the game 59-46.
McConnell was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game scoring 16 points and had numerous big steals in the second half. Caroline Henderson led the Tigers in scoring with 18 points. Lydia Betz added 16 points.
North Allegheny improves to 9-1 overall and 3-1 in Section 1-6A. Seneca Valley falls to 10-3 overall and 3-1 in section play. The Tigers return to action on Saturday when they compete in the Hoops for Harmony tournament at York High School. North Allegheny will take on the host team York at 5 p.m.
Girls Basketball vs. Seneca Valley, 1-11-24
| GAME SUMMARY | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCORE BY QUARTERS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| Seneca Valley | 15 | 16 | 11 | 4 | 46 |
| North Allegheny | 8 | 15 | 13 | 23 | 59 |