Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic guard Kylee Lewandowski looks to the basket as Ambridge's Dasha Jackson (55) and Aniya Walker (1) defend during the WPIAL 4A quarterfinals at Moon High School Thursday. The Trojanettesmoved on with a 49-42 victory.

MOON TWP — Defense has been the cornerstone for Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic's success so far this season. After all, good defense leads to a productive offense.

Sophomore swing player Kylee Lewandowski paced the Trojanettes in both Thursday night. She led all scorers with 23 points and contributed five blocks and seven steals as CWNC shook off a rusty start and disposed of Ambridge, 49-42, in a WPIAL Class 4A girls basketball quarterfinal playoff at Moon High School.

The Trojanettes (20-3) struggled for much of the first half, trailing the Bridgers 22-14 with three minutes left in the first half. But CWNC closed the second quarter with a 5-0 spurt, including Lewandowski's steal and bucket just before the buzzer.

“There was less than four seconds left when she made that steal and she goes the length of the floor,” said CWNC coach Molly Rottmann. “That was huge. Kylee played well offensively, but her defense was great tonight.”

Ambridge never could shake the turnover bug as CWNC forced 18 turnovers in the game.

“I get as much satisfaction out of playing good defense as I do making a big shot,” Lewandowski said. “Defense is a game-changer.

“We worked really hard,” she added. “We were confident we could pull this one out, even when we were down.”

To learn more about this game, read Friday's Butler Eagle.