Double the Fun
MOON TWP — Defense has been the cornerstone for Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic's success so far this season. After all, good defense leads to a productive offense.
Sophomore swing player Kylee Lewandowski paced the Trojanettes in both Thursday night. She led all scorers with 23 points and contributed five blocks and seven steals as CWNC shook off a rusty start and disposed of Ambridge, 49-42, in a WPIAL Class 4A girls basketball quarterfinal playoff at Moon High School.
The Trojanettes (20-3) struggled for much of the first half, trailing the Bridgers 22-14 with three minutes left in the first half. But CWNC closed the second quarter with a 5-0 spurt, including Lewandowski's steal and bucket just before the buzzer.
“There was less than four seconds left when she made that steal and she goes the length of the floor,” said CWNC coach Molly Rottmann. “That was huge. Kylee played well offensively, but her defense was great tonight.”
Ambridge never could shake the turnover bug as CWNC forced 18 turnovers in the game.
“I get as much satisfaction out of playing good defense as I do making a big shot,” Lewandowski said. “Defense is a game-changer.
“We worked really hard,” she added. “We were confident we could pull this one out, even when we were down.”
The Trojanettes continued their onslaught in the third quarter, going on an 11-2 run for a 30-24 lead.
“We started out slow tonight and they (Bridgers) came out with a lot of energy,” Rottmann said. “The way we came out in the third quarter, that's the way we should have started the game. But Ambridge plays in a tough section and I knew this was going to be a good matchup.”
The Bridgers (13-11) hung around and trailed just 35-31 after three quarters, but CWNC received 15 second-half points from Lewandowski and eight from junior forward Dani Short and Ambridge never pulled even.
Short ended the game with 11 points and seven rebounds.
“I thought Dani was sluggish in the first half, but played much better afterwards,” said Rottmann. “And Kylee's defense was huge. We put her on Aniya (Walker, junior forward). She isn't used to having her shot blocked like that.”
Kara Haslett and Dasha Jackson both scored 10 points for the Bridgers.
CWNC will play Central Valley (17-5) in the semifinals Monday at a site and time to be determined
AMBRIDGE 42
Aniya Walker 4 0-0 8, Kara Haslett 4 1-2 10, Megan Guthrie 2 3-7 7, Chloe Rabold 2 2-2 6, Dasha Jackson 3 3-4 10, Rachel Guthrie 0 1-2 1. Totals: 15 10-17 42.
CWNC 49
Ashley Robbins 1 1-3 3, Emma Pospisil 1 0-0 3, Kylee Lewandowski 8 3-3 23, Tess Myers 4 0-1 8, Dani Short 3 5-11 11, Cassie Foster 0 1-2 1, Amanda Bucklew 0 0-0 0, Kari Karanikos 0 0-1 0. Totals: 17 10-21 49.
Ambridge 13 9 9 11 — 42
CWNC11 8 16 14 — 49
3-point goals: Ambridge 2 (Haslett, Jackson); CWNC 5 (Lewandowski 4, Pospisil)
