PINE TWP — Living and dying by the 3-pointer is nothing new for the Pine-Richland girls basketball team.

As head coach Cliff Foster put it, “It's what we do.”

So when the Rams drained just one of their 11 attempts from beyond the arc in the first half of Friday's Section 3-AAAA clash with Seneca Valley, Foster knew his team was due.

“I told the girls at halftime that we're going to make five or six of them in the second half,” he said.

His words proved prophetic as the Rams hit five treys, including four in the third period, and turned a four-point deficit into a 49-41 victory on their home floor.

In the boys' game, Pine-Richland rolled to a 56-42 victory over SV.

In a six-point win over the Raiders Jan. 5, Pine-Richland's girls hit eight shots from the outside.

“They made plays tonight,” SV coach Rob Lombardo said. “When you're playing Pine-Richland, they shoot so many 3-pointers, it's just a matter of time before they make some of them.

“You only hope that they don't make 10 or 11.”

Seneca Valley's sophomore forward Erin Danik scored 11 of her team-high 18 points in the first half to help the Raiders lead 25-21 at the break.

But Megan Grzybek's trey from two feet behind the top of the key with 5:05 remaining in the third quarter gave the Rams (16-3, 8-2) their first lead at 26-25. They never trailed again.

Grzybek, Caitlyn Byerly and Kaitlyn Jenkins each added a 3-pointer to help the Rams keep their edge.

Pine-Richland made 7-of-8 free throws in the fourth period and were 11-of-12 in the game.

“We've been shooting a lot of them and making a lot lately,” said Foster.

Amanda Kalin paced P-R with 21 points.

Danik continued her strong play of late, adding 12 rebounds and four steals for the Raiders (10-8, 5-5).

“She's really starting to come on,” said Lombardo. “She has come a long way physically since last year.”

Pine-Richland 56, Seneca Valley 42The Raiders (13-7, 5-5) were hoping to strengthen their chances of making the playoffs, but the Rams' hot shooting stood in the way.SV's offense was simply unable to match the Rams' 78 percent (22-of-28) effort in two-point attempts.“It wasn't a lack of effort, but a lack of execution,” said SV coach Victor Giannotta. “We missed a lot of shots. Not being able to practice (Thursday) because of the snow hurt us too. That could've helped our shooting.”Trailing the Rams 44-35 with 4:30 to go, SV's press defense led to three steals. That allowed the Raiders to close the gap to 47-42 with just under two minutes to play.But Adam Alexander's basket sparked a 9-0 run to seal the game.For the game, the Rams had just eight turnovers, and for coach Jeff Ackermann, it was a welcome change from the 18 miscues they had in a 10-point loss to Central Catholic on Tuesday.“We have a lot of guards and we're quick,” said Ackermann. “I'm proud of the kids. We're tough to beat at home.”Zach Snyder (14 points) and Chad Izenas (13) both reached double digits for the Raiders.Phil Jurkovec scored 17 points for P-R.SV's postseason hopes will come down to the final week of the regular season. It hosts section-leader North Allegheny Tuesday before closing with a road game at Butler on Friday.

SENECA VALLEY 41Michaela Lamont 0 2-2 2, Christina Dunning 2 0-2 5, Brooke Lyczek 1 0-0 2, Meghan Hess 3 1-2 9, Melissa Carter 2 1-2 5, Erin Danik 6 4-4 18, Paige Montrose 0 0-0 0, Sarah Jones 0 0-0 0, Shaley Bream 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 8-12 41.PINE-RICHLAND 49Caitlyn Byerly 2 0-0 5, Chelsea Rourke 2 2-2 6, Kaitlyn Jenkins 2 1-2 6, Megan Grzybek 4 0-0 11, Amanda Kalin 6 8-8 21, Gianna DeTemple 0 0-0 0, Rachel Steliotes 0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Jenkins 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 11-12 49.Seneca Valley 16 9 10 6 — 41Pine-Richland11 10 18 10 — 493-point goals: Seneca Valley 5 (Hess 2, Danik 2, Dunning); Pine-Richland 6 (Grzybek 3, Byerly, K. Jenkins, Kalin).Monday: North Allegheny at Seneca ValleyBoysSENECA VALLEY 42Zach Snyder 6 2-4 14, Jack Cook 2 0-0 5, Chad Izenas 4 4-7 13, Dakota Topf 4 1-1 10, Matt Drambel 0 0-0 0, T.J. Holl 0 0-0 0, Cody Boozel 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 7-12 42.PINE-RICHLAND 56Adam Alexander 4 1-1 9, Ben DiNucci 1 0-1 2, Andrew Petcash 5 2-2 13, Alex Goitz 1 0-0 3, Joe Knapp 3 0-0 6, Phil Jurkovec 7 3-4 17, Charles Tortirice 3 0-0 6, Paul Nussbaum 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 6-8 56.Seneca Valley 10 12 8 12 — 42Pine-Richland15 8 13 20 — 563-point goals: Seneca Valley 3 (Cook, Izenas, Topf). Pine-Richland 2 (Petcash, Goitz).Tuesday: North Allegheny at Seneca Valley