JACKSON TWP — Seneca Valley freshman guard McKenna Gross and her teammates on the girls basketball team had their mental toughness tested Saturday at William Paul Gymnasium.

Stuck in a forgettable offensive stretch in the fourth quarter, the Raiders badly needed a spark. Obama Academy erased a 15-point deficit and tied the game with Seneca Valley after Michaela Porter banked in a jumper with 4 minutes, 5 seconds remaining.

“We wanted to calm down and keep our heads straight,” Gross said. “We made a lot of dumb turnovers with our passes. We needed to calm down, commit to what we were doing and pull out the win.”

Gross started the fire the Raiders were looking for less than a minute later with a layup.

Seneca Valley senior forward Paige Montrose turned it into a full blaze by wrestling a ball away at midcourt and finding Gross who made another layup seven seconds later.

The quick flurry gave Seneca Valley enough room to pull away for a 41-36 non-section win over the Eagles.

“That's the way Seneca Valley needs to play,” Raiders' coach Rob Lombardo said. “We are very good at transition and we are good when we turn you over and score at the other end. I call it 'spurt-ability' that we can put a little 4-0, 6-0, 8-0 run on somebody like that. We have to get into that flow and make that happen, it just doesn't happen.”

Gross' two layups were part of a 6-1 run that came at a crucial point. Obama Academy tied the game at 30 on Porter's jumper and nearly went ahead seconds later.

The Eagles (2-1) stole the ball at midcourt on the ensuing possession, but Kennedy Bowers gave the ball back when she was called for traveling.

Obama Academy cut into the deficit with solid full-court defense. The Raiders were flustered with the Eagles' jumping into every passing lane.

Seneca Valley didn't make a field goal for the first 8:50 of the second half.

Obama Academy forced the Raiders into 15 second-half turnovers.

“Positioning and making sure that we have the right angles and things like that to get the steals we got,” said Eagles' coach Monique McCoy on why her team's defense was successful.

Seneca Valley didn't appear like it would struggle with Obama Academy early. The Raiders forced seven turnovers in the first quarter and only allowed the Eagles to attempt six shots.

In the second quarter, the Raiders went on a 10-0 run that stretched their lead to 22-7 with 3:57 left in the half.

Erin Danik led the Raiders with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

“I think we play better when we have those spurts because it motivates us to play quicker,” said Brooke Lyczek, who finished with 12 points. “That's when we get most of our easy points and put ourselves up.”

Seneca Valley led 24-13 at halftime. Neither team gained ground in the third quarter, both scoring four points. The Raiders shot 29 percent (10-of-35) from the field.

“With this group, whenever we get a lot of pressure, we have to calm down,” Lombardo said. “They make the right moves, they think of the right pass. … We need to let the play develop and execute better in those kind of situations.”

Sometimes, executing requires improvisation.

Montrose and Gross demonstrated that against the Eagles.

That spurt won Seneca Valley (5-0) the game.

“(Montrose's) effort was the whole part of that,” said Gross, who finished with six points. “Paige puts so much effort into everything she does. I know my job was to make that layup and keep us in the game.”

OBAMA ACADEMY 36

Dalaysia Askew 2 5-9 9, Taylor Stewart 3 1-5 7, Kennedy Bowers 0 2-4 2, Michaela Porter 5 2-5 12, Taylin Tyler 1 4-5 6, Trese Williams 0 0-0 0, Ronnay Simmons 0 0-0 0, Rakely Little 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 14-28 36.

SENECA VALLEY 41

Michaela Lamont 1 1-2 4, Brooke Lyczek 3 5-6 12, Paige Montrose 1 2-5 4, Erin Danik 2 9-11 13, Tori Augustine 1 0-0 2, McKenna Gross 2 2-6 6, Carolyn Palaski 0 0-0 0, Kelsey Cruttenden 0 0-0 0, Karlie Martin 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 19-30 41.

Obama Academy 5 8 4 19 — 36

Seneca Valley12 12 4 13 — 41

3-point goals: Seneca Valley 2 (Lamont, Lyczek).

Today: Seneca Valley at Allderdice