Published Saturday, March 13, 1999 
In both those losses, Kennedy standout Sara Laslow was shut out. So when the 5-foot-7 senior connected on a traditional three-point play midway through the first quarter Friday night, followers of the Lady Golden Eagles had to breathe a sigh of relief.
It was a Laslow baseline jumper off a Maureen Meier feed with 2.5 seconds remaining in the game, however, that turned that relief to sheer joy as Kennedy Christian slipped past the Lady Rockets, 46-44, before some 2,000 fans at Sharon High School.
"We were either looking for her or (Jamie) Cicuto," said Southern Huntingdon coach Phil Speck.
"Probably we were looking more for them to punch it down inside and draw a foul. And I think we were backing off (Laslow) just a little too much and she got a good look. And to her credit, she hit it."
Laslow finished with a game-high 15 points, including 10 in the third quarter.
"Assistant coach Mike Ferry kept telling her, 'You've got to shoot, you've got to shoot. We're getting you the ball,' " said Kennedy coach Father Rick Tomasone. "At one point, Mike nudged me and said, 'I think somebody's feeling it tonight.'"
Laslow certainly was, which proved pivotal to the Lady Golden Eagles' success.
"Any basketball player that's a true athlete wants the ball in their hands," Tomasone said. "And Maureen handled the ball well and made the great pass to her so Laslow could catch it, square and shoot the ball."
Coming off a 50-18 loss to Girard in the District 10 Class AA championship game, Kennedy (26-2) also had something to prove, not only to Tomasone, but to themselves.
"Coming back after that defeat on Saturday, I thought the kids showed a lot of heart out there," said Tomasone. "In a situation like this where it's one and done if you don't win the game, you have to really play and take care of things, you have to step up, and 'show stomach,' as (Farrell coach Ed) McCluskey used to say, and I think our kids did tonight."
Showing stomach, in addition to Laslow and Cicuto, who finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds, were reserves Leslie Necastro, Katie Christiansen and Meier.
The threesome accounted for 10 of Kennedy's 14 second-quarter points as the Lady Eagles turned a 13-12 first-quarter deficit into a 26-22 advantage at the intermission.
For the game, Necastro contributed 6 points and 8 rebounds, Meier scored 7 points, including two big 3-pointers in the first half, and Christiansen added 6 points. Their 19 combined points were the difference in the game, as they outscored the Southern Huntingdon (24-3) reserves, 19-7.
"I thought so," Tomasone said of the threesome making a difference in the game's outcome. "Leslie, you can't say enough about her. She hasn't played that much all year. She doesn't even have enough quarters to letter. But the kids told me they like her heart and intensity, and that they're confident in her. So I gave her a shot tonight."
And she gave coach Tomasone a couple of big ones in return, perhaps, even earning a letter in the process.
"She might have," Tomasone said with a smile.
Unlike the Girard game, when Kennedy didn't score until early in the second quarter, Cicuto got the Lady Eagles rolling early with a bucket only seven seconds into the game.
"That was real important to get off," said Tomasone. "Right away we established the fact that we were going to score and we were going to be able to score inside. And I think that was important."
What also was important was a 7-0 run midway through the second quarter on Christiansen and Necastro deuces and a Meier trey that pushed Kennedy's lead to 23-16 at the 3:34 mark before the Lady Eagles settled for the four-point lead at the intermission.
"Us only scoring 22 points in the first half, that's not our brand of ball," said Speck. "But Kennedy Christian is a very patient team and they make you work hard."
It was Laslow's turn to work hard as the second half got under way, and she immediately sent the message that her shot was back.
She pumped in a 3-pointer and a traditional 3-point play only 1:09 into the frame as Kennedy jetted to a 32-23 lead, it's biggest of the game.
A Holly Steach trey off the glass, however, started the LadyRockets on a 13-6 run that enabled the District 6 runners-up to trail only 38-36 heading into the fourth quarter.
A Cicuto putback of a Tara Stevens' miss at the 6:46 mark moved Kennedy's lead to 40-36 before the Lady Rockets stormed back once again to surge ahead 42-40 on back-to-back hoops by Marissa Cutshall and a pair of Kristen Cresswell freebies. It was Southern's first lead since 15-14 early in the second quarter.
A Necastro free throw at 4:18, a Christiansen deuce on a breakaway at 3:49 and another Necastro freebie with 52.4 seconds remaining put Kennedy back in front, 44-42. But a Cresswell layup with 15.5 seconds left tied the score again, setting up Laslow's fantastic finish.
"We knew it would be a hard-fought game," said Speck, whose squad was led by Creswell's 12 points and Amanda Zinoble's 11, which included a trio of treys.
Notes: The Lady Eagles move to a second-round clash Tuesday at a site and time to be determined against WPIAL power East Allegheny, a 45-43 winner over Cranberry. East Allegheny features 3,000-point scorer Brooke Stewart.
KENN. CHRISTIAN 12 14 12 8 46
SO. HUNTINGDON 13 9 14 8 44
KENNEDY CHRISTIAN -- Cicuto 3-6-13-12; Laslow 6-2-2-15; Stevens 0-0-0-0; Camouse 0-0-0-0; Meier 2-1-2-7; J. Fill 0-0-0-0; Christiansen 3-0-1-6; Necastro 2-2-4-6. 3-pt. goals: Meier 2, Laslow 1. Totals: 16-11-22-46.
SOUTHERN HUNTINGDON -- Creswell 2-8-11-12; Zinoble 4-0-0-11; Cutshall 4-0-0-9; Brooks 1-0-0-2; Steach 1-0-0-3; Hamilton 3-1-2-7; Clark 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Zinoble 3, Cutshall 1, Steach 1. Totals: 15-9-13-44.
