CRANBERRY TWP — Longtime Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic boys basketball coach Dave Long could see the jealousy.

“For years, our guys would watch the girls team march on to the WPIAL finals ... There was a certain amount of jealousy among the boys,” he said.

Not this year.

The Trojans are joining the Trojanettes for the WPIAL championship party this weekend at the Petersen Events Center.

The CWNC boys (17-8) take on Sewickley Academy (23-2) for the Class A boys title at 7 p.m. today. It will mark the Trojans’ first appearance in the WPIAL title game since 2010.

The CWNC girls (23-2) will face Vincentian Academy (20-4) for the WPIAL Class A crown at 11 a.m. Saturday. This will mark coach Molly Rottmann’s 11th championship game appearance in her 19 years as coach.

“They get there with a lot more regularity than we do,” Long admitted.

The teams got there through different means this season.

The Trojans rely on gritty defense and a balanced scoring attack. CWNC allows only 48 points per game on average. Tristan Newcamp and Kenny Fukon average 15 points per game and center Erick Taylor exploded with a big game in Tuesday’s 79-77 upset win over top-seeded Monessen.

Taylor had 29 points, 20 rebounds and seven blocked shots in that contest.

“Erick provided us with that third threat we’ve been looking for offensively,” Long said. “We knew his game was there and we’ve been trying to bring it out of him.”

Taylor did not play in the Trojans’ regular season-ending win over Butler.

“Sometimes you have to do something that will ultimately benefit the team, send a message ... It was addition by subtraction,” Long said.

While the CWNC boys are in the finals after an 0-5 start, the Trojanettes have been rolling all season. Using a size advantage over most of its opponents, the girls team has won 12 straight games.

Rottmann is looking for her sixth WPIAL crown and revenge for last year’s 74-35 loss to Vincentian in the finals.

“People may have overlooked them this year since they lost (Cranberry Township resident, Pitt freshman) Brenna Wise, but they return four starters,” Rottmann said. “It’s all going to come down to how we handle their pressure.

“We’ve been prepping for it. We’re practicing against eight defenders, trying to keep the ball moving and finding the open person.”

Junior center Sam Breen is averaging 26 points per game and has scored more than 1,600 career points. She is nearing 800 career rebounds as well.

Rottmann owns the North Catholic career scoring record of 1,874 points, set from 1985-89.

“With a deep postseason, Sam could get that record this year. And she deserves it,” Rottmann said. “What I like most about her is she’s unselfish. All of our girls are that way.

“They pass the ball very well. They get along with each other and enjoy playing together. We definitely have team chemistry.”

Dani Short, Kylie Huffman and Abby Goetz all average 8.8 points per game for the Trojanettes.

In lieu of Wise, Vincentian has gone to a more balanced attack. Lexi Griggs is averaging 13.4 points per game, Kiersten Elliott 11.4 and Torrieonna Cash 11.0. All three started last year.

Vincentian is bidding to become the first girls basketball team to ever win five consecutive WPIAL titles. Penn Hills accomplished that feat on the boys side more than 20 years ago.

“Our girls know what they can accomplish Saturday,” Vincentian coach Ron Moncrief said. “We are more balanced this season and we rely on defensive pressure to get points off turnovers in transition.

“This is definitely a clash of two different styles. North likes to wear you down with their size. We like a fast game up and down the floor. Whichever team forces the other to play its style will be the team that wins.”

Vincentian is 155-14 over the past six years and is also two-time defending state champion. CWNC has defeated the Royals three times during that stretch, including once this season.

CWNC’s boys had defeated Sewickley Academy eight straight tmes before dropping a 55-42 overtime decision Jan. 30. That win is part of Sewickley’s current 10-game winning streak

“They like to drive to the basket and if you cut that off, they can shoot well from the perimeter,” Long said.

Sewickley Academy trailed Jeannette by 21 points with less than five minutes to play before rallying for a 69-68 win in the semifinals.

“They were practically dead in the water,” Long admitted. “You wonder if they’re a team of destiny. We beat the best team in Class A (Monessen), but we better not think all we have to do is show up Friday night and they’re gonna hand us gold medals.

“As coaches, we have to guard against that.”