JACKSON TWP — There are victories on the scoreboard and there are moral victories.

Seneca Valley girls basketball coach Rob Lombardo had to settle for the latter Monday night, but considering the opponent, he'll take it.

New Castle's Kaylynn Watters hit a 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left, giving her team a 71-68 lead.

Her teammate, Christina Talbert, blocked SV's ensuing inbound pass, as the Red Hurricanes escaped SV's William F. Paul Gymnasium with a three-point win.

“This is the third year in a row we've played them,” said Lombardo. “Two years ago, they beat us by (33 points) and last year, they won by (11).

“Tonight, it took a last-second shot to beat us,” he added. “It means we're climbing as a program.”

Watters hit two free throws that tied the game at 68 with 30 seconds left.

The Raiders (8-6) then committed the last of their eight fourth-quarter turnovers, handing the ball back to the Red Hurricanes (11-3) with 15.8 seconds remaining.

Before the game's deciding shot, Talbert dribbled the ball at the top of the key before passing to her right, where Watters was waiting. The trey gave her a team-high 31 points for the game.

“She had time to put the ball on the floor, but decided to take the 3,” said New Castle coach Jason Rankin. “Our guards are our playmakers and they were the difference for us.”

Lombardo agreed.

“We defended well tonight, but in the end, their playmakers made the plays they needed to,” he said. “Our playmakers are our forwards, which meant we had to execute more late in the game to get them the ball and turnovers really hurt us.”

SV led 51-45 entering the final period and held a lead for much of the period.

But New Castle's Dana Perrotta, who hit five trifectas in the game, drained a pair in the Hurricanes' 26-point effort in the final quarter. The last one cut SV's lead to 66-64 with under two minutes left to play.

One player who got the ball often for SV was forward Alex Karika.

The senior knocked down 15 field goals and scored a game-high 35 points, including 21 in the first half, during which the Raiders enjoyed a 31-16 lead midway through the second quarter.

“They tried sticking a couple of different players on me, but I didn't really focus on that,” said Karika. “I focused on what I needed to do.”

“She had a lot of easy baskets early on,” Rankin said of Karika's performance. “We made her work a bit more as the game went on, but mostly, we tried to pressure the ball when she didn't have it.”

SV's loss was a tough pill for the Raiders to swallow, but is also a performance the team can draw upon as it returns to section play Thursday at North Hills.

“It's bittersweet,” said Karika. “We had the lead for most of the game, but New Castle is a very good team.”

Notes: Both teams wore pink uniforms in honor of breast cancer awareness. ... Former Pittsburgh Steelers Jason Gildon and Pete Gonzalez served as honorary captains.

NEW CASTLE 71Kaylynn Watters 9 11-14 31, Rachael Razzano 1 5-6 7, Dana Perrotta 5 0-0 15, Christina Talbert 4 0-0 8, Kelsey Scott 3 2-6 8, Ki'Ria McPhatter 1 0-4 2, Brandi Stewart 0 0-0 0, Nakia Fish 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 23 18-30 71.

SENECA VALLEY 68Karlei Fronzaglio 0 1-2 1, Alex Karika 15 4-7 35, Julia Vandrak 1 1-1 3, Brooke Clifford 4 1-2 9, Amanda Geiger 3 0-0 7, Katie Brown 4 0-0 8, Meghan Hess 1 0-0 3, Hannah Parey 1 0-0 2, Kaitlyn Eagle 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 29 7-12 68.

New Castle 12 17 16 26—71Seneca Valley 20 17 14 17—683-point goals: New Castle 7 (Perrotta 5, Watters 2); Seneca Valley 3 (Karika, Geiger, Hess).

Thursday: Seneca Valley at North Hills