JEFFERSON TWP — The Knoch girls basketball team has risen to be among the top teams in the Section 1-AAA race.

On Thursday, coach Sean O'Donnell wanted to see it stay that way.

The Knights received 10 points from Brooke Armahizer and nine points and 22 rebounds from Celina Sanks to hold off Kittanning 34-27.

The win kept the Knights atop the section with a 3-0 record — tied with Hampton — and 6-4 overall while the Wildcats fell to 0-3, 3-10.

“Tonight was a big game for both teams,” O'Donnell said. “I knew (Kittanning) would come out ready to play and they were ready. They needed this game.”

“I thought we played great in the fourth quarter,” Kittanning coach Janelle Kotyk said. “In our section, you have to play four quarters and we haven't done that yet.”

The Knights opened up a 31-19 lead with 4:21 to play after consecutive baskets by Armahizer and Savanna Steffen, but the Wildcats clamped tighter on defense and started to claw back.

Taylor Patterson drained a pair of 3-pointers and Frankie Religa added a layup, the latter with 1:43 remaining to make it a 31-27 contest.

Sanks would come up with a huge defensive rebound with 46.4 seconds left. She missed the front end of the 1-and-1, but Kate Miller would sink a pair of free throws and Steffen added another down the stretch to seal the win.

“The defensive effort was there,” Kotyk said. “We missed some block outs on some free throws.

“We're a young team. We have only one starter back, a sophomore, so we're having some growing pains on offense. We're looking for someone to step up and score,” she added.

Said O'Donnell, “More than anything, we just wanted to play team defense and they did score. It was hard to get some good, clean shots.

“That second half, it was a tough call to take some time off the clock with passing, but you want to get a good shot, too.”

The Knights began to take control early in the second quarter when, while holding on to an 11-10 lead, Armahizer scored and Sanks followed with a pair of baskets to give the Knights a 17-10 lead with 4:14 left.

After baskets by Emily Knepshield, the second one with 2:27 left, Amber Henzel scored off an assist from Sanks, then Sanks added two free throws inside the final minute for a 23-14 lead.

The win was the Knights fifth straight after a 1-4 start and O'Donnell believes the streak has keyed the team's confidence.

“Some people have said that winning is contagious and once you get it, you don't want to lose it,” O'Donnell said.

Logan added eight points for the Knights while Knepshield and Patterson led the Wildcats with nine points apiece.

KITTANNING 27Cassie Merryman 3 0-1 6, Kirsten Wolfe 0 1-2 1, Frankie Religa 1 0-2 2, Emily Knepshield 4 1-2 9, Taylor Patterson 3 0-0 9, Alaina Thomas 0 0-0 0, Megan Cloak 0 0-0 0, Tiffany Montgomery 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 11 2-7 27.

KNOCH 34Celina Sanks 3 3-7 9, Kate Miller 0 2-3 2, Savanna Steffen 1 1-2 3, Sam Logan 3 1-1 8, Angela Cress 0 0-0 0, Brooke Armahizer 5 0-1 10, Amber Henzel 1 0-0 2.

Totals: 13 7-14 34.

Kittanning 8 6 2 11—27Knoch 10 13 4 7—343-point goals: Kittanning 3 (Patterson); Knoch 1 (Logan).

Today: Freeport at Knoch