JACKSON TWP — It was the kind of Section 3-AAAA slugfest that Seneca Valley has become used to.

The Raiders landed the most decisive blows in the final quarter. After scoring just 20 points combined over the first three periods, they dropped 16 in the final eight minutes to survive Shaler 36-35 in high school girls basketball action Monday night at William Paul Gymnasium.

Seneca Valley head coach Rob Lombardo missed the game due to a death in his family and assistant Dorothea Epps took the reins against the Titans.

“I found out that Rob wasn’t going to be here at about 4 p.m.,” said Epps, “but Rob had the girls ready to go and it was just a matter of going out and executing the game plan. The girls really stepped up.”

Especially late. Twenty-five seconds after Jacey Schott had drained a 3-pointer to give Shaler a 31-29 lead with 1:51 left, Brooke Lyczek returned the favor for the Raiders. Her trey gave the Raiders a 32-31 lead it would not surrender.

Paige Montrose hit four free throws, pushing SV’s edge to 36-31 with under a minute left. A trio of SV turnovers led to a 4-0 run by the Titans, who closed the gap to just one point and gave them one final chance with four seconds on the clock. Rylee Donovan received the inbound pass and appeared to try to draw a foul near the free-throw line, letting a weak shot go. No call was made as the ball bounced out of bounds as time expired.

“We wanted to drive to the basket there,” said Shaler coach Cornelious Nesbit. “If we did miss, we wanted to have time to get a rebound and put-back.”

Montrose helped bring the Raider offense out of the doldrums, scoring nine points in the second half. She ended the game with a team-high 13 points and four steals.

“With teams doubling up on Erin (Danik), they are so focused on her that it opens things up for Paige,” said Epps. “And Paige takes a backseat to nobody. She goes after it hard.”

Shaler was looking to take a 15-9 lead into halftime, but the Raiders (7-1, 2-1) reeled off four points in a five-second span. Montrose hit one free throw before missing the second. The Raiders corralled the rebound and freshman guard McKenna Gross made a 3-pointer as time expired to cut Shaler’s edge to 15-13.

The Raiders trailed by just two points despite shooting 4-of-18 from the field in the first two quarters.

“We let them off the hook tonight,” said Nesbit. “We should have been up by double digits at halftime. This team needs to learn how to finish.”

Danik managed nine points and 13 rebounds. Schott paced the Titans (3-4, 2-2) with 13 points.

Including a 44-31 loss to North Hills last Thursday, Seneca Valley has scored just 67 points combined in its last two games.

“It’s tough,” said Epps. “Our section is a defensive section. We know we are going to see a lot of zone and it’s tough to get to 50 or 60 points against a zone. But we don’t care if it’s 2-1, as long as we win.”

SHALER 35

Rylee Donovan 2 3-4 8, Olivia Long 2 0-0 6, Alliya Duritza 2 4-7 8, Jacey Schott 4 2-2 13, Allie Graf 0 0-1 0, Kayla Seidl 0 0-0 0, Maura Fisher 0 0-0 0, Megan Lydon 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 9-14 35.

SENECA VALLEY 36

Carolyn Palaski 1 0-0 2, Brooke Lyczek 2 0-0 6, McKenna Gross 2 1-2 6, Paige Montrose 2 9-15 13, Erin Danik 3 3-6 9, Michaela Lamont 0 0-0 0, Kelsey Cruttenden 0 0-0 0, Toni Augustine 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 13-23 36.

Shaler 10 5 7 13 — 35

Seneca Valley6 7 7 16 — 36

3-point goals: Shaler 6 (Schott 3, Long 2, Donovan); Seneca Valley 3 (Lyczek 2, Gross).

Wednesday: Seneca Valley at Bethel Park