WEXFORD — It never gets old for North Catholic.

That doesn't mean it gets easy for the Trojanettes.

North Catholic's girls advanced to the WPIAL finals for the fifth consecutive season Monday night, overcoming an early deficit to defeat Elizabeth Forward, 64-50, in the Class 4A semifinals at North Allegheny.

“Our program is expected to win and a certain amount of pressure comes with that,” North Catholic coach Molly Rottmann said. “These are teen-age girls. I'm sure they feel that.

“It took us a while to get warmed up tonight.”

Elizabeth Forward (17-8) jumped out to a 16-8 lead in the game's first six minutes. Becky Spirnak and Julia Jenkins hit a pair of treys each in helping the Warriors get off to the quick start.

Trailing 19-14 after the first quarter, the Trojanettes (21-3) had an answer in the second — and then some.

North Catholic began the second period with a 24-3 run, exploding out to a 38-22 lead with 1:26 left in the half. That margin never left double digits the rest of the way.

Butler resident Kylee Lewandowski drained four treys during the spurt. She finished with a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds.

“I owe a lot to my teammates for those shots,” Lewandowski said of her treys. “They keep encouraging me to shoot, even when I'm missing. They have confidence in me and that really helps.”

Rottmann said Lewandowski's sudden flurry of treys triggered her team.

“Ky found her spot and once she hit a couple, it kind of sparked everybody else,” Rottmann said. “Our offense just got going.”

Tess Myers had 15 points and eight rebounds, Dani Short nine points and 14 boards, Emma Pospisil eight assists for the Trojanettes.

Short's presence inside affected Elizabeth Forward's offensive attack.

“She's not only a tall girl, she's a big body,” Warriors coach Krystal Gibbs said of Short. “Dani takes up a lot of space in there.

“We knew scoring inside was going to be a problem for us. That's why I'm happy we were hitting the three's the way we were.”

Elizabeth Forward sank 11 treys on the night, but managed only six two-point field goals. The Warriors hit just six of 29 shots in the middle two quarters.

Spirnak paced the Warriors with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Jenkins had 15 points and five assists, Juria Flournoy five assists.

“Spirnak is a very good player,” Rottmann said. “She gave us some trouble inside. But, yeah, one of our strengths is usually controlling the paint.”

The Trojanettes will be seeking their third consecutive WPIOAL 4A championship when they take on Central Valley — a 55-48 winner over Blackhawk in Monday's other semifinal — at 7 p.m. Friday in the Petersen Events Center.

North Catholic has won 15 of its last 17 games. Central Vaslley (22-1) has reeled off 13 consecutive wins.

Short is the Trojanettes' lone senior.

“Dani's going to her fourth straight final and that's an accomplishment,” Rottmann said. “We tell the kids all the time. We know the destination, but enjoy the journey and know what it takes to get there.”

Lewandowski definitely has a feel for what it takes.

“Every team we play, we seem to get their best,” she said. “We have to respond to that and we did tonight.”

Elizabeth Forward entered Monday's semifinal having won 11 of its last 13 games.

“Nobody expected us to be in this game,.” Gibbs said. “We came out determined, hit some shots and held a lead on them for a while.

“I'm very happy about that. We kept fighting back against a great team. I treat that as a win for us.”

ELIZABETH FORWARD 50

Julia Jenkins 5-13 0-0 15, Brianna Spirnak 6-15 4-4 18, Haylee Briggs 2-4 0-0 6, Juria Flournoy 3-10 0-0 8, Bailie Brinson 1-7 1-1 3, Haven Briggs 0-2 0-0 0, Abigail Bickert 0-1 0-0 0, Anna Resnick 0-3 0-0 0, Seneca Thompson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 17-56 5-5 50.

NORTH CATHOLIC 64

Emma Pospisil 2-4 2-2 7, Kylee Lewandowski 8-24 3-4 24, Lucy Waskiewicz 2-5 0-1 6, Tess Myers 6-13 0-0 15, Dani Short 3-4 3-4 9, Belle O'Hara 1-3 1-8 3. Totals: 22-53 9-19 64.

Eliz. Forward 19 9 9 13 — 50

North Catholic14 24 15 11 — 64

3-point goals: Jenkins 5, Spirnak 2, Hay.Briggs 2, Flourney 2; Pospisil, Lewandowski 5, Waskiewicz 2, Myers 3

Friday: WPIAL 4A Championship-North Catholic vs. Central Valley, 7 p.m., Petersen Event Center