Trailing by five points after three quarters, New Castle clamped down on defense and rallied to defeat visiting North Allegheny in overtime, 49-42, in WPIAL Class AAAA Section 3 girls' basketball action last night.

The Red Hurricane (12-3, 6-2), ranked No. 5 in Class AAAA by the Post-Gazette, went into a half-court trap and limited the Tigers (8-8, 4-4) to seven points in the final 12 minutes. North Allegheny did not score in overtime.

"We caused some turnovers and did a good job on defense," New Castle coach Luann Grybowski said. "We pressured them and made our foul shots"

Jaleesa Sams led New Castle with 18 points. Nicole Dudas had 12 points for North Allegheny, who had a 9-0 run in the third quarter.

Other top games
Kaitlin Witmer had 14 points and Kathy Bianco 13 to lead Chartiers Valley (11-4, 7-1) to a 59-32 victory against host Waynesburg (9-8, 3-5) in Class AAA Section 4.

Riverview led by three points going into the fourth quarter, but pulled away for a win at South Allegheny, 50-36, in Class AA Section 4. Elise Crummie had 20 points for the Raiders (14-2, 7-0). Ashlee Wygonik had 17 for the Gladiators (11-6, 4-3).

Lauren Weber had 14 points and Michelle Kushner 13 points and eight assists as host Sto-Rox (10-5, 7-1) needed a late rallyfor a victory against South Park, 55-51. The Eagles (3-13, 2-6) led by nine after three quarters.

Class AAAA No. 4 Gateway led by 21 after one quarter and cruised to a 61-39 victory against visiting McKeesport (7-9, 3-5) in Section 2. Qiuana Brown led the Gators (13-2, 7-1) with 16 points.

Host Penn-Trafford overcame a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Hempfield, 50-46, in Class AAAA Section 1. Jenna Petrini had 13 points to lead the Warriors (12-4, 6-2), who outscored the Spartans (4-4, 7-7) in the final period, 24-8.

Nancy Steiger's shot with less than a minute to play in overtime gave host Springdale a 53-51 win against Wilkinsburg in Class AA Section 4. Lindsay Yaworski had 15 points, Ashley Baranowski 12 and Steiger 10 for the Dynamos (6-10, 2-5). Jenny Banks had 18 for the Tigers (7-9, 3-4).

Stars of the night
Kayla Aston scored the final two of her 25 points on a layup with 1 second to play to lead Laurel Highlands (7-9, 5-3) to a 47-46 win at Southmoreland. Vanessa Abel had 23 points for the Scotties (11-4, 4-3).

Danielle Gratton scored a season-high 29 points in leading Class AAAA No. 2 Bethel Park (15-1, 7-0) to a 69-53 win in Section 4 against visiting Canon-McMillan (10-6, 3-4).

Monica Jones had 30 points as Woodland Hills (6-11, 4-4) defeated host Baldwin (2-15, 0-8), 48-43, in Class AAAA Section 2.

Hot shots
Players with four or more 3-pointers: Katie Johnson, Hempfield, 5; Kaitlyn Marecic, Baldwin, 4; Nicole Dudas, North Allegheny, 4.

Top boys' game
Romone Barnes had 23 points to lead visiting Washington (13-1) to a 75-62 non-section victory against Class A No. 5 Geibel. Kellen Holmes had 28 points and Rob Ramsey 25 for the Gators (11-2).

Honor roll
Hopewell senior Christa Harmotto was named the Gatorade Pennsylvania Girls' Volleyball Player of the Year. A 6-foot-3 middle hitter, Harmotto led the Vikings to the PIAA Class AA title this season with 448 kills and a .595 hitting percentage. Harmotto, along with the other state players of the year, is a finalist for Gatorade's National Player of the Year, chosen later this month. She is a Penn State recruit.