Hazleton, PA — From the Standard Speaker Another game, another leading scorer for the Hazleton Area girls’ basketball team on Thursday. Freshman Sophia Benyo grabbed the spotlight this time with a career-high 21 points, all coming in the first half, as the Lady Cougars coasted to a 63-32 victory over Pittston Area in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 game at Hughie McGeehan Gymnasium. Benyo had seven field goals and went 7 of 10 from the free throw line to lead Hazleton Area to its 14th straight victory, ninth in the conference without a loss. She also pulled down eight rebounds to lead her team. “My teammates were really good and they contributed a lot,” Benyo said. “They gave me nice passes and I tried to pass it to them when I could.” The Lady Cougars and Patriots matched their point totals in each of the first three quarters. Only problem for the visitors was while Hazleton Area racked up 24, 24 and eight, they managed just 11, 11 and eight, as the PIAA’s mercy rule went into effect midway through the third quarter. Before long, coaches from both teams emptied their benches as the Lady Cougars looked ahead to Friday’s make-up WVC game at Tunkhannock. “We’re playing pretty well and we look like a happy group,” Hazleton Area head coach Joe Gavio said. “We’re starting to feel it. Practices are lively. Kids are pulling for each other ... but we’ve got to keep it going because you can stub your toe in a heartbeat.” Against Pittston Area, the Lady Cougars also got 13 points from Sophia Shults and 10 from freshman Kaitlyn Bindas. Daniella Raniela, the reigning Division 1 Most Valuable Player, topped the Patriots with 13 points, but only two field goals. “We definitely didn’t take them lightly,” Shults said. “We wanted to keep working hard all game, run our plays correctly and still press hard.”