St. Mary’s forward Ciara Rosten (44) fights for a rebound with Mount St. Mary’s Emma Sullivan on Friday night at St. Mary’s High School. Rosten and the Lancers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 55-47 win. Photo by John RusacPurchase color photos at www.BeeNews.com The good times continue to roll for the Lancaster Redskins’ girls basketball team.

Lancaster improved to 12-0 on Tuesday night with a 58-49 victory over Frontier, a team that entered the game with a 6-2 league record.

It was another impressive victory over a good team, but Lancaster head coach Karen Catalano was particularly impressed with this victory because the Redskins actually faced some adversity down the stretch. Lancaster had an 18-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but Frontier went on a run to make things a little interesting. Frontier ended up outscoring Lancaster by nine in the quarter.

Catalano said the game was good experience for her team to learn how to protect a lead late in the game.

“I felt like we made the game closer than it could have been, but that’s a good thing,” Catalano said. “We had to learn what to do when we’re pressed with the lead. We were able to knock our free throws down. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but it was good for our team. We needed a shake up.”

Catalano wanted to see how her team would respond in a closer game. The Redskins have become accustomed to winning rather easily in ECIC play. Tuesday was an opportunity to see how they would do late in the fourth quarter of a close game.

Katie Healy helped close the door on the Falcons as she had a team-high 21 points. Sarah Saba added 14 points and Sam Wozniak chipped in with 10. Healy and Wozniak led the team with eight rebounds each.

Catalano wasn’t surprised that once again Lancaster’s big three of Healy, Saba and Wozniak led them to victory.

“Saba’s been making really good decisions, Katie’s in a rhythm and Sam’s the kind of player that we want the ball in her hands at the end of the game,” Catalano said.

The Redskins now have just four league games left before the end of the regular season. They will participate in the Lockport Kiwanis Tournament on Feb. 18 before postseason play begins. At 12-0, Catalano is trying to find ways to keep her team hungry and rolling on all cylinders so they don’t lose any momentum before the playoffs.

“The goal is to keep it going,” Catalano said. “We’re continuing to find way to motivate them. We’re always adding in a few new wrinkles. The goal is to win one at a time. We want to be winning heading into the playoffs.”

Lancaster will be helped by the return of seniors Ashley Long and Kelly Krnjaich to its backcourt. Both have been out with injuries and are now expected to push some of the starters for more playing time.

“They will raise the level of competitiveness and push the bulk of our kids in the lineup,” Catalano said. “We’ll get back to it with those kids healthy.”

Lancaster will host West Seneca West on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. They will travel to Orchard Park on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. before returning home for Senior Night at 7:30 p.m. next Friday.

Meanwhile St. Mary’s rebounded after three straight losses to defeat Mount St. Mary, 55-47, on Friday night.

St. Mary’s got a big game from Ciara Rosten as the sophomore had 29 points to lead all scorers in the victory. Tara Barnhardt chipped in with 13 points of her own.

The victory improved St. Mary’s to 7-10 overall and 3-4 in Monsignor Martin league play. Previously, St. Mary’s had suffered defeats against Pioneer, Nardin and Sacred Heart between Jan. 21 and 25.

The Lancers still sit in fifth place in the Monsignor Martin standings behind Cardinal O’Hara, Holy Angels, Nardin and Nichols. They had a chance to match Nichols when the two teams met up in Buffalo on Wednesday evening. The game began after The Bee went to press.

St. Mary’s will visit Buffalo Seminary at 6 p.m. on Monday before returning home to host Cardinal O’Hara at 7:30 p.m. next Monday.

Depew is trying to snap its own losing streak as they will visit Maryvale at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The Wildcats have now lost five games in a row following a 44-26 defeat at Amherst on Monday.

Depew struggled to score in both the opening and closing frames of the game, posting two points in both the first and fourth quarters against Amherst. Kara Koch led the Wildcats in scoring with nine points, while Kristie Dlugosz had six points and nine rebounds. Dlugosz continues to lead the team in scoring with 10.6 points per game, just ahead of Chelsea Buono’s 8.3. Dlugosz’s 98 total rebounds are also second-highest on the team behind Sam Wayne’s 104.

Depew has road games against Maryvale and East Aurora on Thursday and Friday before returning home to host Pioneer at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. email: mmigliore@beenews.com