CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS, Pa. – Eisenhower put a scare into Region 2 leader Cambridge Springs on Thursday. Now all the Lady Knights need to do is finish.

Ike led for large stretches of the first half and trailed by just 3, 21-18 at halftime, before a 24-6 third-quarter surge lifted the Blue Devils to a 53-28 win .

“We came out ready to play hard tonight,” said Eisenhower coach Mike Logue. “We had the lead on them for a little while; it was nip-and-tuck.

“We handled their press, played great defense and rebounded well. That was the best first half of the year for us.”

The Cambridge Springs (14-2 Overall, 11-1 Region 2) trio of Ashton Hoover, Julia Mailliard and Rachel Swanson went to work in the second half. They combined for 45 of the 53 Cambridge Springs points; 19, 15 and 11 respectively.

“It was a tale of two halves,” added Logue. “We gave up 24 points in the third quarter, fouled too much and kind of ran out of gas a little bit.”

Emiley Wheeler had a big game for Eisenhower (7-10, 5-7) with 11 points and 15 rebounds, while Lilee Renninger had seven points and four blocks and Lydia Giannini six points and five steals.

“I love this group of girls,” Logue said. “After the game I got on them a little bit about playing 32 minutes. We can’t just play good for halves. We’re right there. We’re capable of playing with any team in our region.”

EHS returns to action on Monday, hosting Maplewood in another region battle.

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EISENHOWER (28)

Wheeler 3-5-12-11, Renninger 3-1-3-7, Chase 1-0-0-2, Courtney 1-0-2-2, Giannini 3-0-3-6, Mohney 0-0-0-0, Totals 11-6-20-28

CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS (53)

Swanson 3-2-2-11, Schmidt 2-0-0-4, Westcott 2-0-0-4, Maillard 4-7-11-15, Hoover 7-3-5-19, Totals 18-12-18-53

By Quarters

Eisenhower 14 4 6 4 – 28

Cambridge Springs 14 7 24 8 -53

Three-point FGs: Eisenhower – None; Cambridge Springs (5) – Swanson 3, Hoover 2

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MAPLEWOOD 65, TIDIOUTE 25

GUYS MILLS, Pa. – Tidioute Charter’s girls played “aggressively” throughout the game, but couldn’t keep up with Maplewood’s hot shooting in a 65-25 loss Thursday.

“We started out with a strong first quarter tonight and played hard to the finish,” TCCS coach Christy Valentine said. “The girls were aggressive tonight, but our shot selection, or lack thereof at times, makes it hard to put points on the board.”

Nakiesha Krouse again led the Bulldogs with 15 points, but Valentine noted teams are starting to key on the junior guard.

“Teams are putting intense pressure on Nakiesah, as is expected,” she said. “Now is the time that others truly need to start connecting as well.”

Angelina Sabella had eight points and Kelsey Nuttall grabbed six rebounds in the loss.

The Bulldogs return to action tonight when they host North Clarion.

Maplewood won the junior varsity game, 38-11. Liz Pizer and Ruth Scaife each had four points for the Bulldogs.

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TCCS (25)

Krouse 1-3-6-4-15, Sabella 4-0-0-0-8, Proctor 0-0-0-0-0, Fors 1-0-0-0-2, Nuttall 0-0-0-0-0, Zofcin 0-0-0-0-0, Scaife 0-0-0-0-0

Maplewood (65)

Snyder 9-2-0-0-24, C. Mangus 1-1-3-2-7, Thomas 1-0-2-1-3, M. Mangus 3-0-4-1-7, Atkins 0-2-0-0-6, Eimer 3-0-2-0-6, Dolittle 4-0-2-1-9, Moorhead 1-0-0-0-2, Beuchat 0-0-2-1-1

By quarters

TCCS 5 8 3 9 – 25

Maplewood 12 24 17 12 – 65

3-point FGs: TCCS (3)-Krouse 3. Maplewood (5)-Snyder 2, Atkins 2, C. Mangus.