Despite a combined record of 50-7, the last two seasons ended in disappointment for North Catholic's girls basketball team.

For a program with very high standards, losing to Villa Maria in the state quarterfinals in 2017 and against Berks Catholic in the semifinals last year left the Trojanettes wanting more.

That's one reason why Tuesday's 58-46 semifinal win over Mifflinburg tasted so sweet; the Trojanettes are headed back to Hershey.

But make no mistake, North Catholic's run will not be complete without one more victory. A powerful Bethlehem Catholic squad stands in the way.

The Trojanettes (26-3) and Golden Hawks (27-4) will square off for the PIAA Class 4A state championship at noon Saturday at the Giant Center.

North Catholic coach Molly Rottmann isn't too familiar with Bethlehem Catholic, but one of its players sticks out in point guard Jaleesa Lanier. The junior is averaging 10 points per game, but is capable of more. She scored 26 points in Tuesday's 64-50 semifinal decision over Bonner-Prendergast.

“Everything they do starts with her,” said Rottmann. “That's who we need to key on. She has a good mid-range jumper, but can also step back and hit a 3.”

Abigail Brown, a 6-foot junior center, added 15 points in the game, which saw Bethlehem break a fourth-quarter tie by outscoring the Pandas 29-15 in the final eight minutes.

Brown is Bethlehem's tallest starter, but two others — guard Kourtney Wilson (5-10) and forward Briana Barnard (5-9) — also bring good size to the floor.

Wilson leads the team with 12.5 points per game.

“The girls do a great job of playing to their strengths,” said Bethlehem coach Jose Medina. “They take pride in conditioning and it allows us to play above our size. That's been a staple of our program for years.”

The Hawks recently won their third straight District 11 title and fourth in five years under Medina, who coached the team to the PIAA title in 2017.

Medina said his team can go 10 deep.

“We've had recent players move on from our program to play at George Washington and Pitt,” said Medina. “Two others are now in the (U.S. Army). We have a great pedigree within the program. Our players get a chance to see high-level basketball.”

Tuesday's game was the only one of Bethlehem's six playoff contests in which the opponent reached 50 points. In the other five victories, the Hawks allowed an average of just 31 points per game.

The Trojanettes are seasoned, however, and have players capable of filling important roles.

“We're blessed with a lot of players who can handle the ball,” said Rottmann. “You look at Kylee (Lewandowski, junior), she's 6-1, but can handle the ball well. It's the same with Tess (Myers, guard) and Dani (Short, forward).

“You can't just talk about it, you have to physically do it and we practice it all the time.”

North Catholic's top point guard is junior Emma Pospisil, who scored 15 points in Tuesday's win.

“It's her first year as a starter, but she got a ton of playing time last year,” Rottmann said. “There are games where she has only a couple of shots, but does a great job of distributing the ball.

“It's a tough position. You're basically a coach on the floor, but I can't say enough about the job Emma has done.”

Myers, also a junior, leads the Trojanettes with 15.8 points per game and Lewandowski is right behind her at 15.

The latter is just as valuable on defense, where she had several key blocks and steals against Mifflinburg.

“We stick Kylee at the top of our 1-3-1 zone and she causes a lot of issues for teams,” said Rottmann. “We often put her on the other team's best shooter. She can block shots without drawing fouls.”

Rounding out North Catholic's starting five is junior guard Cassie Foster, averaging 7.6 points per game.

Two other juniors, forward Belle O'Hara and guard Lucy Waskiewicz, are North Catholic's top reserves.

“We took the lead (Tuesday) with those two in the game,” said Rottmann. “Between defense and rebounding, we are blessed to have them coming off our bench.”

Medina is hoping the stiff challenge facing his team brings out the best in his players.

“They have good size and get up and down the floor very well,” he said of the Trojanettes. “Our girls are tenacious. It's in our DNA.”

Note: This will be the second time the programs have been matched in a state title game. The Trojanettes claimed the Class 3A championship in 1993 by defeating the Golden Hawks, 62-42.