First, it was Neshannock High’s for the taking.

Then, it was Mohawk’s.

But when the dust settled, the Riverside girls basketball team claimed second place in the WPIAL Section 2-AA standings.

The Lady Panthers defeated host Mohawk, 64-51, last night to finish the regular season on a three-game winning streak.

“It was certainly a pleasant surprise,” said Riverside coach John Wolf, whose team lost five starters to graduation from last year’s squad. “If you asked me in September if we wanted to be in second place, I’d sign any dotted line to take that position in the standings.”

Sam Weir netted 14 points to help Riverside knock Mohawk (7-5 section, 15-7 overall) into third place. Neshannock (7-5, 12-8) finished in fourth because it lost twice to the Lady Warriors this season.

“We are disappointed that we couldn’t get the seniors a win on Senior Night,” Mohawk coach Mike O’Lare said. “Still, we’re excited by the fact that we’re getting another day to practice and prepare for the first round.”

Both coaches agreed that the game had a playoff atmosphere because of the amount of fans present. The contest was tight for three quarters as Riverside (8-4, 15-7) clung to a five-point lead heading into the final frame.

The Lady Panthers pulled away thanks to a 16-8 run. O’Lare said that spurt was because of his team’s inability to hold onto the basketball.

The Lady Warriors committed 18 turnovers in the second half.

“We just fell apart,” O’Lare said. “Everything that could go wrong went wrong. Their pressure didn’t change. It was our decision making and a little bit of panic.”

Riverside’s 64-point outburst is the highest total the Lady Warriors have allowed this season.

“It wasn’t one thing in particular,” Wolf said. “We made some good decisions with the ball and got the ball down low and had some success with that.”

Alyssa Natale, Mohawk’s leading scorer, tallied a game-high 19 points and Brooke Shasteen added 12 markers and 10 rebounds.