Dec 17, 2002 By Kevin Harrison For The 3 min read

UNIONTOWN -Laurel Highlands hosted Connellsville Monday night in a Section-2 AAAA matchup. The Fillies rallied behind the play of senior guard Deena Blanc to defeat the Falcons 54-39, to pick up their second section win.

Blanc scored a game-high 25 points, and coverted 15 of 16 free throw attempts.

“I’ll take this one, because it’s a section win, and you have to defend your home court,” LH head coach Rick Hauger said. “Connellsville did a nice job. They’re big and they were aggressive tonight. They could be a factor later in the season.”

The Fillies (5-1, 2-1), behind the foul shooting of Blanc and the play of Diane Gmiter, edged out to a 16-9 lead after the first period. Gmiter hit for seven, and Blanc had six, all from he foul line. Alexis Metros kept the Lady Falcons close with five in the quarter.

“We made some mistakes that cost us in the first half,” Connellsville head coach Bob Renzi said. “They didn’t back down, they picked up their play in the second half. We’re getting closer in finding the right combinations.”

Laurel Highlands outscored Connellsville (3-5, 1-2) 20-14 in the second quarter. Blanc had a nine-point quarter, hitting seven of seven free throws in the process.

“Deena is doing a lot of things for us, because we have a lot of kids without much varsity experience,” Hauger said. “She, along with Lauren Mahoney, return from last year’s squad. Deena comes ready to play every night and gives a solid effort. There is not much more you can ask from her.”

In addition to Blanc’s nine-point second-period effort, Allyson Nehls added six, Mahoney had two and Kayla Ashton drilled a three-pointer just before the end of the half. Shannon Kovack led Connellsville with five points in the quarter, going five of six from the foul line, as the Fillies took a 36-23 lead to the locker room.

“That three-pointer just before the end of the half took a little wind out of us,” Renzi said. “Their shooting from the foul line in the first half helped gave them the lead. We’ve got to improve our defense so we don’t give teams so many opportunities.”

The Fillies opened up an 18-point lead in the third quarter, and still held a 16-point advantage at the end of the period, with the help of a 12-9 run. Blanc had six points in the quarter for LH. Mahoney added four, and Ashton chipped in with a field goal.

Ashley Benzio gave the Falcons some life in the third with five points, but Laurel Highlands took a 48-32 lead into the final period.

“You could see tonight were a step to slow at times, and a second to late on some of our passes, because we haven’t been together long enough,” Renzi said.

“I see a bright future for these girls, because our timing will get better.

“I think we’ll be a little better prepared when we see these teams in the second half of the season. “

The Fillies went into a slowdown in the fourth quarter, scoring only six points, but more importantly took care of the ball well enough to secure the win.

“We’re not that big and we don’t get many second opportunities, so we’ve got to make our shots count,” Hauger said.

“I like the overall intensity we had tonight. I think we’re starting to come together as a team.”

Benzio led Connellsville with nine points.

Laurel Highlands will host Ringgold in a Section 2-AAAA game Thursday, while Connellsville hosts Albert Gallatin in section play.