JEFFERSON TWP — Knoch honored Laura Gray, Lindsay MacArthur and Sara Montgomery on Senior Night.

Then, the trio went out and made it an even more memorable occasion.

Gray scored a season-high 21 points while Montgomery and MacArthur added 14 and 12, respectively, as the Knights girls basketball team overwhelmed the Vikings 70-26 in a Section 1-AAA game.

The win clinched a WPIAL playoff berth for the Knights (12-7, 6-5) who face Mars in their section finale against Thursday.

"It's a nice way to have Senior Night," said Knoch girls coach Curt Vasas. "Sara and Lindsay have done a great job all year, and Lindsay is back, not at 100 percent, but close."

Knoch scored the first eight points and raced out to a 24-7 lead after the first quarter.

The Vikings (1-17, 0-11) got a 3-pointer from Casey Bonk and a free throw by April Dempsey sandwiched around a Gray basket to make it 26-11 with 6;42 left before halftime.

But the Knights assumed control by reeling off the next 15 points, surging to a 41-11 lead.

Ray Vining's basket with 1:02 left stopped the streak, but the Knights scored the next 11 points for a 52-13 lead with 4:59 left in the third quarter.

In the first half, Gray tallied 17 points and Montgomery 10 to help the Knights cruise to the big lead.

"We wanted to try and work it inside because we knew we had that advantage," said Vasas.

The three seniors are trying to reverse last year's season, which saw the team go 4-19.

"All of them embody dedication," Vasas said. "They are great leaders for us. When Sara came in as a freshman, she helped immediately. Laura and Lindsay as sophomores, could make an impact in their careers.

"It's a cliche to say seniors provide leadership, but Sara has the ability to dominate on certain nights. Laura can play inside or out and Lindsay can, too. They all like to get inside and they all play good defense,"Vasas added.

Nine different Knoch players reached the scoring column while the Vikings had four players score, led by Ray Vining's 10 points.

With the playoffs looming, Vasas is hoping to fine tune his team to get ready down the stretch.

"The only bad game we've played was against Highlands last week. They beat us, but we didn't have the spunk like we usually do," said Vasas.

"We have Mars on Thursday, a makeup game Friday against Freeport then a game (Saturday) against Bishop Canevin.

"I told the girls after the Highlands game the second season starts now," he added.

VALLEY 26April Dempsey 2 2-4 7, Kelsey Bonk 0 0-0 0, Carly Bonk 0 0-0 0, Cassy Richards 0 0-0 0, Katrina George 0 0-1 0, Shariena Headen 1 1-4 4, Casey Bonk 2 0-0 5, Ray Vining 5 0-0 10, Colleen DeWitt 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 3-9 26.KNOCH 70Hannah Novotny 2 0-0 4, Regina Robb 2 3-4 7, Lindsay MacArthur 6 0-0 12, Sara Montgomery 6 2-4 14, Laura Gray 10 1-4 21, Haley Hutterer 1 0-0 3, Emily Protzman 0 2-2 2, Taylor Tresatti 1 0-0 2, Jenna Kanterman 1 2-2 5, Quinn Pendred 0 0-0 0, Devon Herbert 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 29 10-16 70.

Valley 7 6 12 1—26Knoch 24 20 16 10—703-point goals: Headen, Dempsey, C. Bonk; Hutterer, Kanterman

JV: Knoch, 41-27

Thursday: Knoch at Mars