Painful Defeat North Catholic girls fall to Bethlehem Catholic in state title game
HERSHEY — During its recent postseason run, North Catholic trumped its opponents with clutch play that included everything from scoring and rebounds to blocked shots and steals.
In Saturday's PIAA Class 4A girls basketball title game against Bethlehem Catholic, the Trojanettes found themselves on the wrong end of the game's most crucial plays.
Trailing by five points at halftime, North Catholic never pulled even in a 60-49 loss to the Hawks at the Giant Center.
The Trojanette players and faithful banked on the team rising up in the second half. That was the case in a second-round state win when North Catholic recovered from a 16-point halftime deficit to defeat Blackhawk and in a semifinal win over Mifflinburg, when North Catholic was losing before closing the game with a 17-0 run.
“You're not always going to have a magical comeback against really good teams,” said North Catholic coach Molly Rottmann. “Give their defense credit. Emma (Pospisil, point guard) had to work extra-hard today.”
Bethlehem Catholic led 48-38 with 3:35 to play. But renewed hope filtered from the court to North Catholic's bench when the Trojanettes managed an 11-4 spurt that pulled them to within 52-49 with 1:33 remaining in the game.
The run included a trey from senior forward Dani Short, a conventional 3-point play from Tess Myers and buckets from Kylee Lewandowski and Short.
But Bethlehem held North Catholic scoreless during the game's final 90 seconds. Myers, who led all scorers with 20 points, was on the bench for the final 1:21 after fouling out.
Free throws and a basket from Isabelle Rosario with 55 seconds left helped close the door on North's hopes for a state championship.
“Defense has been our calling card all season,” said Hawks' coach Jose Medina. “Our plan from the start of the game was to chase them from the 3-point line. You get them running around early, those shots are going to start falling short late in the game and they're searching for their legs.”
The Hawks controlled several key offensive rebounds in the stretch run. One came from Keyara Walters with 2:37 left. The board led to a basket from point guard Jaleesa Lanier that put Bethlehem up 50-41.
“The official stats had them with five more offensive rebounds than us, but it seemed like more,” Rottmann said. “Rebounding has been our Achilles' heel this season. In the other games we lost - Bethel Park, Peters Township, Penn Hills - we were out-rebounded.“It hurts your chances,” added Rottmann. “They get a putback, then you miss at the other end and they're coming down the floor again.”North Catholic's last lead came when Myers sank two points with 2:44 left in the first half, giving the Trojanettes an 18-17 edge. It was the team's first field goal of the second quarter.Bethlehem then closed the half with an 8-2 run to lead 25-20 at the break.“We lost it for a couple of possessions,” said Rottmann. “That was the separation that we could never come back from.”Twice early in the second half the Trojanettes closed the gap to two points, once at 29-27 and again at 31-29. The Hawks then dropped a 17-9 run that pushed their lead to 10 points.Lewandowski played the game with a swollen right ankle after rolling it against Mifflinburg. She finished Saturday's game with seven points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.“I knew there'd be some pain to deal with, but there was no way I was not going to play today,” she said.Lanier led the Hawks (28-4) with 16 points. Kourtney Wilson and Abby Brown both scored 13. Brown, a 6-foot junior forward/center, showed her range with a pair of treys. The first put the Hawks up for good at 20-18 with 2:27 left in the first half.She also took a key charge late in the game.“That's Abby Brown,” said Medina. “She's a glue girl and you need those kids on the team to keep everything held together. She's like an assistant coach on the floor, making sure everyone is where they need to be.“When she challenges the girls in the huddle, they don't want to let her down.”In her final high school game, Short posted 18 points and 11 rebounds.North Catholic went 26-4 this season and won a third straight WPIAL title.“We had a run that we won't forget,” said Pospisil, “but right now, it is what it is.”NORTH CATHOLIC 49Emma Pospisil 0-7 2-2 2, Cassie Foster 1-4 0-0 2, Kylee Lewandowski 3-8 0-0 7, Tess Myers 7-16 5-7 20, Dani Short 6-8 5-12 18, Lucy Waskiewicz 0-1 0-0 0, Branygan Bianchin 0-0 0-0 0, Belle O'Hara 0-0 0-0 0, Sarah Berardelli 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-44 12-21 49.BETHLEHEM CATHOLIC 60Isabelle Rosario 2-5 1-2 5, Jaleesa Lanier 5-13 6-9 16, Briana Barnard 4-11 1-3 9, Kourtney Wilson 5-15 2-4 13, Abby Brown 5-8 1-2 13, Keyara Walters 2-2 0-0 4, Solei Rodriguez 0-0 0-0 0, Kelby McNally 0-0 0-0 0, Stephanie Donato 0-0 0-0 0, Oneviah Scott 0-0 0-0 0, Taliyah Medina 0-0 0-0 0, Taliah Peterson 0-0 0-0 0, Julia Zambo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-54 11-20 60.North Catholic 11 9 12 17 — 49Bethlehem Cath.9 16 13 22 — 603-point goals: North Catholic 3 (Myers, Lewandowski, Short); Bethlehem Catholic 3 (Brown 2, Wilson).
