BUFFALO TWP — Tess Myers found it quite uncomfortable sitting on the bench.

The senior guard on the North Catholic girls basketball team was forced off the court because of foul trouble late in the third quarter and Freeport took advantage, storming back to tie the game with five minutes remaining.

“Obviously, it's frustrating,” Myers said. “But I have complete confidence in my team. Over the years I've matured emotionally. It's not about me. It's about my whole team, so I'm on the bench clapping.”

She was more effective on the court scoring.

Myers returned and notched six quick points to help North Catholic escape Freeport with a 52-41 win.

“A win's a win,” Myers said, “whether it's by one or 30.”

It was the 49th consecutive section victory for the Trojanettes (17-1, 11-0).

For Freeport (12-5, 9-2), it was a missed opportunity.

The Yellowjackets played stellar defense in the first half, holding a North Catholic team that came in averaging 64.8 points per game to a mere 16 in the first half.

But Freeport wasn't able to capitalize on the offensive end, scoring just 16 itself in the opening two quarters.

It was a stalemate in more ways than one. North Catholic was 5-of-24 from the field; Freeport was 6-of-24.

“We passed up a lot of open shots in the first half,” said Freeport coach Fred Soilis. “I'm proud of their effort. We showed we could play with them.”

The Yellowjackets also showed they could rally against North Catholic after the Trojanettes came out in the third quarter and scored seven quick points for a 23-16 lead.

North Catholic grew that advantage to as many as 13 midway through the third quarter and threatened to run away from Freeport.

But the Yellowjackets regrouped, chipped away and drew even at 39-39 in the fourth.

“One thing we did do that we haven't done in awhile is put together four quarters against them,” Soilis said. “That's the one thing I was trying to accomplish with them and we did that.”

Maddie Clark scored 11 points and Melaina Dezort added 10 for Freeport.

Myers had 18, including eight of North Catholic's final 13 points in the game.

Emma Pospisil scored seven of her nine points in the third quarter to help kickstart North Catholic after another sluggish start.

The Trojanettes were held scoreless Saturday in the first quarter before rallying to beat Upper St. Clair.

“They could have had some meltdowns,” said North Catholic coach Molly Rottmann. “We had no points in the first quarter (Saturday) and that's never happened before. I complimented them (tonight) that they didn't let it affect their defense.”

Freeport finished just 13-of-52 shooting in the game. North Catholic was a little better at 15-of-44.

“It was a physical game,” Rottmann said. “I was proud of them for the fact they persevered.”

Part of the reason for the strong finish, Rottmann said, was pacing.

“We slowed down a little bit, made good decisions and made them play defense,” Rottmann said. “We just have to have a little more patience offensively.”

Freeport may have gotten a little more confidence despite the loss.

“We lost by 11, but it was a lot closer than that,” Soilis said. “I don't know they were expecting that, but this is what I was expecting from our team and I know they can do that. If we make a couple of buckets, it's a different game.”

NORTH CATHOLIC 52

Emma Pospisil 2-6 4-7 9, Cassie Foster 1-8 0-0 3, Kylee Lewandowski 1-9 3-4 6, Tess Myers 6-14 4-4 18, Bella O'Hara 2-2 0-0 4, Sarah Berardelli 1-1 0-0 2, Branygan Bianchin 1-3 2-2 5, Lucy Waskiewicz 0-0 2-2 2, Dacia Lewandowski 1-1 0-0 3. Totals: 15-44 15-21 52.

FREEPORT 41

Samantha Clark 3-11 0-0 7, Maddie Clark 3-10 4-4 11, Grace Soilis 1-5 0-0 3, Sidney Shemanski 2-4 1-2 5, Melaina Dezort 3-11 2-2 10, Harley Holloway 1-11 3-5 5. Totals: 13-52 10-13 41.

North Catholic 10 6 21 15 — 52

Freeport9 7 14 11 — 41

3-point goals: North Catholic 7 (Pospisil, Foster, K. Lewandowski, Myers 2, Bianchin, D. Lewandowski); Freeport 5 (S. Clark, M. Clark, Soilis, Dezort 2)

Thursday: North Catholic at Greensburg Salem; Apollo-Ridge at Freeport