Trojanettes use late run to get 71-51 semifinal win
ROSS TWP — Tess Myers posed with her right arm in the air as she turned to face the North Catholic bench and smiled.
Her 3-pointer during a big second-half run was a dagger for the North Catholic girls basketball team, plunged deep into the heart of Blackhawk.
The Trojanettes (23-1) have shown a penchant this year for shifting into a another gear.
They did it again at North Hills Middle School Monday night in a 71-51 win over the Cougars that sent them to the WPIAL title game for the sixth consecutive season.
“It's a dream come true,” said senior Emma Pospisil, who provided her own problems for Blackhawk with 17 points. “Everyone thinks we should be here, but we didn't take it for granted.”
“Our No. 1 goal was to get back to the (Petersen Events Center) for our senior year,” Myers added. “We want to finish this run Friday.”
A run is what finished off Blackhawk.
The Cougars (20-4) trailed 44-40 late in the third quarter before North Catholic went on a prodigious scoring spree.
Just four minutes later, the Trojanettes had a 60-42 lead over shell shocked Blackhawk.
“They came out in a triangle-and-two and we weren't adjusting to it (in the first half),” said North Catholic coach Molly Rottmann. “At halftime we talked about how we were settling for just one pass and a shot, but the seams were open. We did a better job attacking the seams and getting a better shot.”
Blackhawk tried its best to take away Myers and Butler native Kylee Lewandowski with its triangle-and-two.
Myers still ended up with 21 and Lewandowski contributed in other ways with key assists and rebounds.
That left things open for other Trojanettes like Pospisil, who had a huge night.
She hit four 3-pointers. Sarah Berardelli came off the bench to add 10.
“I think what makes us so special is teams can faceguard me and Kylee all they want, but Cassie (Foster), Sarah, Belle (O'Hara) and Emma are just as much a threat. Emma came up big for us tonight.”
North Catholic will go for its 20th district crown Friday against Southmoreland, a 64-51 winner over Central Valley in the other 4A semifinal. And it's fourth in a row.
“We're really excited,” Myers said. “We're ready.”
BLACKHAWK 51
Makenzie Amalia 8-24 5-6 22, Quinn Borroni 2-4 0-0 4, Kassie Potts 1-3 2-2 4, Casey Nixon 0-2 1-2 1, Sierra Richard 1-5 0-0 2, Jolie Strati 5-12 0-0 10, Aliyia Thompson 4-9 0-3 8. Totals: 21-59 8-12 51.
NORTH CATHOLIC 71
Emma Pospisil 6-9 1-3 17, Cassie Foster 1-5 3-4 6, Kylee Lewandowski 2-9 0-0 5, Tess Myers 7-17 6-7 21, Belle O'Hara 2-4 1-3 5, SDarah Berardelli 4-4 2-2 10, Branygan Bianchin 0-0 5-6 5, Lucy Waskiewivz 1-1 0-0 2, Dacia Lewandowski 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 23-49 18-25 71.
Blackhawk 17 13 12 9 — 51
North Catholic17 16 20 18 — 71
3-point goals: Amalia; Pospisil 4, Foster, K.Lewandowski, Myers
Friday: WPIAL Class 4A championship-North Catholic vs. Southmoreland, 7 p.m., Petersen Events Center
