WEXFORD — North Allegheny girls basketball coach Will Saunders asked his team a straight-forward question before its game against Seneca Valley on Monday.

He then got a straight-forward answer.

The Tigers entered the contest at 3-4 in Section 3-AAAA, one game out of a playoff spot.

"We told the players before the game that it was a must-win," said Saunders. "We knew that it might make them a bit nervous, but we asked them if they wanted to make the playoffs."

The Tigers (12-7, 4-4) answered with a resounding "yes" by way of a 43-35 win over the Raiders.

On the short end of a 24-20 score at halftime, NA surrendered only 11 second-half points after SV shot 4-of-17 for 23 percent

"It was the same old story," said Raiders coach Kelly Mathews. "We became passive on offense and couldn't finish. It's been that way all season."

NA junior forward Maria Nolan's free throw with 5:07 left to play tied the score at 32.

Her steal and bucket 25 seconds later put the Tigers ahead for good at 34-32.

NA's Kristen Beatty, who had only two points at halftime, scored 12 in the second half, including all 10 of the Tigers' third-quarter points.

Nolan and Jackie Lang also scored 14 points each for NA.

The duo combined to score 18 of North Allegheny's 20 points in the first half.

"We wanted to get the ball to the weak side and attack them there," said Saunders. "We wanted to make them react to us instead of us reacting to them. And I think we did well with it."

The Tigers' win avenges a 55-46 loss to Seneca Valley on Dec. 18.

Kelsey Spencer led SV with 27 points in that game. She scored eight points Monday night.

"They made her work a lot harder for shots this time," said Mathews. "They did a good job of denying her."

The Raiders (11-8, 2-6) were led by junior forward Jackie Mangola, who scored 13 points, but only one in the second half.

"We told our players that Mangola would cool off at some point, and she did," said Saunders

Note: North Allegheny outrebounded Seneca Valley 37-28. ... The Tigers were 20-of-34 from the free throw line (59 percent), while SV was 9-of-15 (60 percent).

SENECA VALLEY 35Aly Eagle 0 2-4 2, Megan Gebrosky 1 0-0 2, Kelsey Spencer 3 2-5 8, Kelsey Patsilevas 3 0-0 8, Amanda Johnson 1 0-0 2, Jackie Mangola 3 5-6 13, Catherine Messmer 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 11 9-15 35.

NORTH ALLEGHENY 43Maria Nolan 5 4-10 14, Kristen Beatty 3 8-14 14, Jackie Lang 3 7-8 14, Sarah Haas 0 1-2 1, Dawn Murphy 0 0-0 0, Tina Kachulis 0 0-0 0, Ginny Thistle 0 0-0 0, Marissa Posteraro 0 0-0 0, Julie Figan 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 11 20-34 43.

Seneca Valley 10 14 5 6—35North Allegheny 7 13 10 13—433-point goals: Seneca Valley 4 (Patsilevas 2, Mangola 2); North Allegheny (Lang).

JV: North Allegheny 36-31

Thursday: New Castle at Seneca Valley, 6 p.m.