BEAVER — Its ability to make shots from the perimeter was a big reason why Knoch earned a spot in the WPIAL Class 4A girls basketball semifinals.

When the Knights misfired on their five 3-point attempts in the first quarter against top-seed Beaver, there was no thought of straying from the gameplan.

The Knights would eventually find their range, or so they thought.

Knoch made just one of its 27 attempts from beyond the arc and the Knights saw their season come to an end with a 40-22 loss to the host Bobcats.

“Nina Shaw, Hattie McGraw, Nevaeh Ewing and Madilyn Boyer, they all were over 35 percent in shooting 3s this season,” said Knoch coach Chris Andreassi. “Keep shooting, that's what we do.”

Beaver has given up an average of just 25 points per game this season.

“You have to give Beaver credit,” added Andreassi. “They're the best defensive team in the WPIAL and there's a reason for that. We got some good looks, but some of our shots were rushed because of their pressure.”

Knoch missed its first 12 shots from the outside before Nina Shaw made one with 1:07 left in the first half. Despite their poor shooting performance, the Knights trailed just 19-10 at halftime, nothing that couldn't be erased with a quick run, something Knoch is certainly capable of.

“I told the girls at halftime, if we had made half the shots we normally do in that first half, we're up in this game,” Andreassi said.

But the third period brought more frustration — ten attempts at a trey and nothing to show for it.

Meanwhile, the Bobcats were relying on senior Emma Pavelek, who scored a game-high 22 points.

“She and (junior guard) Payton List were our top two scorers during the season,” said Beaver coach Greg Huston. “Payton had on off-game tonight, but Emma picked up the slack.”

Beaver (19-0) has used a 2-3 zone virtually all season. List (5-foot-10), Madison Weiland (5-11) and Makenzie Weiland (5-11) made that decision pretty easy for Huston.

“I was a man-to-man guy for the first 10 years of my (coaching) career,” he said. “But when you have girls with long arms who can cover a lot of ground, a zone is the best way to go.”

Boyer paced Knoch (10-2) with eight points and Megan Vasas added seven.

The Knights averaged 55 points per game this season, but a poor shooting night has put an end to their season after just 12 games.

“We haven't peaked yet,” added Andreassi. “We had a state-wide shutdown, a school shutdown, a couple of quaratines ... but every opportunity we had to get the players in the gym for practice, they were there. They really worked hard.”

KNOCH 22Maddie Boyer 2 4-5 8, Nina Shaw 2 0-0 5, Hattie McGraw 0 2-2 2, Megan Vasas 3 1-2 7, Nevaeh Ewing 0 0-0 0, Amanda Huckestein 0 0-0 0. Totals: 7 7-9 22.

BEAVER 40Emma Pavelek 9 1-2 22, Anna Blum 1 0-0 2, Makenzie Weiland 3 3-3 9, Madison Weiland 2 1-3 5, Payton List 1 0-2 2, Constantina Krzeczowski 0 0-0 0, Natalie Priest 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 5-10 40.Knoch 5 5 4 8 — 22Beaver10 9 13 8 — 403-point goals: Knoch (Shaw); Beaver 3 (Pavelek 3).