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Defense was the name of the game on Monday night and Bethel Park’s defense proved to be the most smothering as the Black Hawks claimed a 50-42 win over the Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils in a Section 4-AAAA clash. Trailing 27-24 at intermission, Bethel Park nearly silenced Mt. Lebanon in the third quarter and limited the Blue Devils to five field goals for the entire second half. With the Blue Devils held at bay, Bethel Park surged ahead behind the play of Shannon Conely and Justina Mascaro.

Conely was held to two points in the first half but exploded for 11 second-half points, including a three-pointer with around two minutes to play that put the game on ice and gave BP a 10-point lead at 48-38. Mascaro was a force in all phases of the game and netted a game-high 16 points. With numerous steals and blocks on defense, Mascaro was selected as the Player of the Game by Quad-A Sports.

Bethel Park sprinted out of the gates in the first quarter with leads of 6-0 and 12-6, but Mt. Lebanon began to settle into the game with timely turnovers on defense that led to points in transition. The Blue Devils used a 9-2 run to start the second quarter to grabbed a 23-17 lead. Junior McKenzie Bushee scored a team-high 11 points for Mt. Lebanon and sophomore Alyssa Hyland added 10 points.

The Black Hawks closed the gap to 27-24 by halftime and took control in the second half with their stellar defensive play. Joining Conely and Mascaro in double figures was freshman Maria Cerro who scored 10 points. Cerro had a fine performance with several mid-range jumpers and steals that led to layups on the other end of the floor.

With the win, Bethel Park improves to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in Section 4-AAAA. Mt. Lebanon dips to 2-4 overall and 2-2 in section play.

Pine-Richland vs. North Allegheny Game Summary

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	FINAL
Pine-Richland	14	19	23	13	69
North Allegheny	16	19	12	24	71