Chelsea Kauffman and Ericka Warvell are becoming quite the popular duo.

The Neshannock High girls basketball team’s leading scorers are attracting all sorts of attention from opposing teams.

Now, it comes down to execution.

Last night at New Brighton, the Lady Lancers did not do that in a 40-38 WPIAL Section 2-AA loss.

Kauffman and Warvell shot a combined 3 for 21 from the field as the Lady Lions employed a triangle-and-two defense to neutralize both players.

Kauffman finished with two points on two foul shots, while Warvell had 12.

As a team, Neshannock (7-4 section, 12-7 overall) made 9 of 50 field goals and were held to one second-half basket.

“You’ve got to be able to play through that kind of stuff,” Lady Lancers coach Luann Grybowski said of Kauffman and Warvell. “You’ve got to expect that.”

Warren (Ohio) John F. Kennedy also managed to upset the Lady Lancers on Monday with the same defensive strategy. The loss broke Neshannock’s nine-game winning streak that began Jan. 6.

“We’ve been trying some things, setting screens for those guys,” Grybowski said. “We’re getting open looks but we’re (missing).”

Despite their second-half struggles, the Lady Lancers still had a chance to win the game late in the fourth quarter.

But Kaitlyn Hopkins’ layup after an offensive rebound gave the Lady Lions (3-9, 9-13) a two-point lead with 30 seconds left.

Neshannock then committed a turnover on its next possession and was forced to foul Hopkins with 6.5 seconds remaining. Hopkins missed her first foul shot and the Lady Lancers raced down the court as Grybowski was trying to call timeout.

The referees did not grant a timeout until less than a second remained, costing Neshannock a chance to tie the score at the buzzer.

“We’ve got to get back on track,” Grybowski said.