Neshannock continued its push toward a Section 2-AA championship with a swarming defensive effort against Laurel.

The Lady Lancers caused 24 turnovers and received scoring from nine players in the 64-41 victory. Ericka Warvell led the way with a game-high 20 points.

“She played well defensively as well offensively,” Neshannock coach Luann Grybowski said. “She scored 14 of her 20 in the first half, and she did a nice job applying pressure on defense.”

The win over the Lady Spartans means Neshannock (5-1 section, 11-2 overall) is in a three-way tie with Riverside (5-1, 12-2) and Beaver Falls (5-1, 8-5) in Section 2-AA. The Lady Lancers beat Riverside, but lost to Beaver Falls.

Grybowski said Neshannock still has to improve in a few areas if it’s going to win a section crown.

“We caused a lot of turnovers, but we didn’t convert the shots or we turned it over ourselves or made some kind of mistake,” said Grybowski of the win over Laurel (2-4, 4-9). “We played very sloppy in the first half.”

Ashlee Patton help change that in the final two quarters when she registered nine of her 11 points. Laurel’s Aislinn Deinert recorded her third straight double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Marisa Wallas added 10 points.

Lady Spartans coach Jessica Shevitz said early foul trouble hurt her team’s chances at an upset bid.

“I had three starters in a heap of foul trouble,” she said. “So we put some younger girls on the floor and we turned it over a lot. They move the ball well and put pressure on the ball and we didn’t handle it as well as could have. They’re a good team, but the score doesn’t quite tell how we played.”