ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Offensive rebounds will hurt a team, especially when they are converted into second-chance points.

Top-seeded Shenandoah (17-2) recorded a dozen boards off its own missed shots, turning many of them into points as the Zeps held off No. 3 Monroe Central, 60-52 in the OVAC WVU Medicine Class 3A Girls Basketball Championships on Saturday afternoon inside a jam-packed ECO Center.

“We just didn’t do a good enough job on the back side of our defense. We gave up too many second-chance points. I don’t know how many (second-chance) points we gave up, but it was 14 in the first half. The second half was a little bit better, but that was the difference in the game.”

The contest was deadlocked four times in the first quarter before Shenandoah took a 13-12 lead on a Emma Dailey free throw with 0.4 seconds left.

Monroe Central suffered a huge blow early in the second quarter when sophomore Miley Bommer injured her knee with 6:45 on the clock. She was carried from the floor, but returned to the Seminoles bench with her right knee wrapped in ice. She did not return.

Baker wouldn’t discuss the seriousness of the injury.

With Bommer out of the lineup, Shenandoah led 18-15 before going on a 11-2 run that propelled it to a 12-point, 29-17, advantage.

A three by Monroe Central’s Allie McFrederick just before the halftime buzzer drew the Seminoles to within nine, 29-20.

Trailing 40-29 with a little more than two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Monroe Central made its move, sparked by Brylee McFrederick with seven of her game-high 20 points. She had all but one of her team’s markers in the first quarter.

Monroe Central finally drew even at 44 when Brylee McFrederick kissed a short shot off the glass with 5:52 left to play.

The two teams were knotted at 47 and 48 before Shenandoah scored four straight points for a 52-48 lead it would not relinquish.

“They have a nice team. They have two nice guards and two good post players,” Baker said of the Zeps. They outworked us on the boards, that was the difference.”

It was a 56-52 lead before the Zeps connected four free throws down the stretch to seal the deal.

Jadyn Miller and Mayzie Emery each netted 10 points for the Seminoles. Miller also pulled down six of Monroe Central’s 16 rebounds.

Brenna Leach paced four Zeps in double figures with 19. Emily Moore added 17, Molly Van Fleet 11 and Dailey 10. Leach also grabbed a dozen of the Zeps’ 33 boards.

Shenandoah shot 19-for 30 from the foul line to just 6-for-9 for Monroe Central.

Both teams charted 10 turnovers.