North snares WPIAL 3A title
PITTSBURGH — Decorated North Catholic coach Don Barth used to remind Molly Rottmann know that nobody remembers the runner-up.
Having turned away section foe Freedom, 48-43, in Thursday night’s WPIAL Class 3A girls basketball championship clash, this isn’t a title run that her Trojanettes will soon forget.
“This last couple of weeks have been like a rollercoaster,” Rottmann said. “This is one of the most special ones. This season has been hard, in a good way. We all needed it. And I think that they’ve earned it.”
The Trojanettes were no stranger to Petersen Events Center, but the road here was unfamiliar territory. A selfless group, they overcame a handful of injuries and supported teammate Anastasia Peterson as she’s dealt with her mother’s recent death.
“What they’ve gone through and what they’ve had to adjust to, with the injuries, and the next person, and people out of position … they’ve bought into it,” Rottmann said. “They’re doing whatever needs to be done and they’ve shown some unbelievable fierceness in the face of adversity.”
On the court, North held the edge for all but 25 seconds in beating the scrappy Bulldogs (18-5) for the third time this season.
Freedom pulled a total of 25 rebounds off of the offensive boards, but could only redeem them for 16 second-chance points.
“They (Freedom) play hard and they play tough,” Rottmann said. “The offensive boards that they were getting were really killing us the most. We wanted to get out in transition a little bit.”
The Trojanettes’ longest scoring came on a six-point surge in the first frame. The Bulldogs led 7-6 before North’s Tori Drevna bucketed five of those points out of a media timeout.
Freedom wouldn’t again see the higher ground. They struggled from the field in the opening half, shooting 9-for-33 (27.3%). The team’s main scorers, Shaye Bailey and the Mohrbacher sisters, Renae and Julz, combined to go 7-for-27 in that span.
The Bulldogs netted 28 points in the paint, with most of them coming from that trip. North’s Anna Waskiewicz, who’s 5-foot-7, guarded the post for part of the bout.
“As a team, we just knew that we had to go in confident and stay poised, no matter what was going on in the game,” said North junior Dacia Lewandowski, who finished with ten points. “We just stayed together as a team and rode it to the end.”
Freedom tied the game on two occasions out of halftime, but Peterson’s make with 3:56 to go gave her team a six-point lead.
“These last couple of days have been hard, not just mentally, but physically, (with) my mom and that situation,” Peterson said. “It’s been nice having a team that is willing to drive an hour to come to the funeral, or text me or calls, or even on the court, pick me up.”
Rottmann didn’t discount the importance of Peterson’s basket.
“I can’t say enough about how amazing she has been,” Rottmann said. “It’s been ongoing and her teammates have supported her and been there for her the whole time. And Anastasia has just done an amazing job of being able to balance it and just focus and be there. That shot tonight was huge.”
Drevna, Lewandowski, and Alayna Rocco continued on to go 11-for-16 from the stripe in the final period, icing the contest. Rocco paced all North scorers with 15 points.
“Tonight was not a disappointment,” Freedom coach John Kaercher said. “We came out here and went toe-to-toe with the giant.”
His team missed nine free throws in total, five in the final period.
“You can break the game down to the fact that, if we’d have made a few more layups or a few more free throws, the outcome’s different,” Kaercher said. “It was a great battle between two teams that showed that we are the two best teams in 3A.”
NORTH CATHOLIC 48
Alayna Rocco 6 2-3 15, Tori Drevna 4 4-6 14, Dacia Lewandowski 2 6-10 10, Anna Waskiewicz 2 3-4 7, Anastasia Peterson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 15 15-23 48.
FREEDOM 43
Renae Mohrbacher 8 2-7 18, Shaye Bailey 3 2-2 11, Julz Mohrbacher 3 1-4 7, Olivia Evans 3 0-0 6, Cadence Gorajewski 0 1-2 1. Totals: 17 6-15 43.
North Catholic 14 10 9 15 — 48
Freedom 9 12 10 12 — 43
3-point goals: Freedom 3 (Bailey 3); North Catholic 3 (Drevna 2, Rocco)
