The Lady Spartans' postseason hopes are alive.

Laurel's defense allowed just 16 total points in the final three quarters to pull away for a 59-33 Section 1-3A home win over the Lady Wolverines.

Laurel (5-6, 10-11) moved up to a tie for fourth place with Beaver Falls (5-6, 7-11). The teams have one more section game remaining and they split the season series.

"This is a big win for us; we're very happy," said first-year Lady Spartans coach Matt Stebbins. "We put ourselves in a position where we have a shot.

"I'm happy with this group. We're playing good basketball and we're competing."

The Lady Spartans visit section champion Neshannock (11-0, 19-1) and the Lady Tigers will travel to Ellwood City (1-10, 5-16). Both games are set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday. If Laurel and Beaver Falls remain tied after Thursday's action, both teams advance to the postseason because of the series split.

"It comes down to the last day of the year and we have something to play for," Stebbins said.

Laurel took charge in the third quarter, outscoring the Lady Wolverines, 22-5, to build the buffer to 45-28.

Caroline Gibson netted a game-high 14 points for the Lady Spartans and Janna Conrad contributed 11. Gibson pulled down seven rebounds. Makenna Collins chipped in with seven steals to go with her eight tallies, while Shelby Miles snared seven boards with four markers.

Natalia Greco garnered a team-best 10 tallies for Ellwood City.