Top-seeded North Catholic girls defeat Elizabeth Forward in Class 4A semifinals
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Monday, February 25, 2019 | 8:26 PM
North Catholic’s Tess Myers scores over Elizabeth Forward’s Julia Jenkins during semifinal WPIAL action Monday, Feb. 25, 2019 at North Allegheny High School.
North Catholic’s Kylee Lewandowski drops 19 on Elizabeth Forward in the first half during semifinal WPIAL action Monday, Feb. 25, 2019 at North Allegheny High School.
Elizabeth Forward’s Anna Resnik fouls North Catholic’s Dani Short during semifinal WPIAL action Monday, Feb. 25, 2019 at North Allegheny High School.
North Catholic’s Kylee Lewandowski goes for a rebound over Elizabeth Forward’s Bailie Brinson during semifinal WPIAL action Monday, Feb. 25, 2019 at North Allegheny High School.
North Catholic’s Dani Short scores past Elizabeth Forward’s Brianna Spirnak and Haylee Briggs during semifinal WPIAL action Monday, Feb. 25, 2019 at North Allegheny High School.
With her team leading by five after one quarter against the defending WPIAL Class 4A champions Monday night, Elizabeth Forward coach Krystal Gibbs was feeling good.
Her team was shooting lights out from 3-point range and had top-seeded North Catholic reeling for a period of time.
But the veteran coach didn’t feel as if things were going to stay as they were.
“The kids came out really strong, but I felt like we had to keep going,” she said.
The fifth-seeded Warriors kept battling but couldn’t overcome a strong second quarter by the Trojanettes, who rolled to a 64-50 victory in a Class 4A semifinal matchup at North Allegheny Monday night.
North Catholic (21-3), which advances to its third straight Class 4A title game, outscored the Warriors, 24-9, in the second quarter and took a 10-point lead into halftime.
Kylee Lewandowski led the way for the Trojanettes, scoring 12 of her game-high 24 points in the frame.
“We changed things up defensively a little bit, and I thought we were extending Dani (Short) too far out of the paint,” North Catholic coach Molly Rottman said of her team’s second-quarter adjustments. “I think Kylee did a nice job on (Bri) Spirnak and slowed her down because she had a nice first quarter, and then Kylee caught fire in the second quarter, too. I think that loosened things up a little bit.”
The Warriors (17-8) used the 3-point shot to take a 19-14 lead after eight minutes of play. EF hit five shots from beyond the arc in the first quarter, with Julia Jenkins hitting a pair of those treys.
Jenkins missed her first three attempts but showed resiliency in knocking down her next two tries.
Jenkins finished with five 3-pointers and 15 points in the loss.
“It’s hard for her, when she misses the first couple, to get going, but she did that tonight and was able to keep going and persevere,” Gibbs said. “She was huge.”
Jenkins hit her pair of 3s less than a minute apart to give EF a 16-8 lead with 1:55 on the clock.
The Trojanettes scored on three straight possessions to cut their deficit to two before Bri Spirnak, who poured in a team-high 18 points and 14 rebounds, drained a 3 to give the Warriors their five-point cushion after one.
Spirnak had 10 of her points in the first quarter.
“We were just a little bit tentative in the first quarter. There is a lot of pressure because they know it’s expected that they should win,” Rottman said. “EF, to their credit, played really well and shot the ball really well in the first quarter.”
The Trojans also had success from 3-point range, especially in the second quarter.
Lewandowski had four of North Catholic’s six 3-pointers on a 24-3 run in the first six and a half minutes of the frame.
The spurt gave North Catholic a 38-22 lead but a pair of 3s from Haylee Briggs cut EF’s deficit to 38-28 at halftime.
“I just told them that they had to get it together. You see what’s happening and that they’re hitting shots, get out on the shooters,” Gibbs said. “We aren’t playing any different of a game for them than we’ve played for everyone else.”
Elizabeth Forward was outscored 26-18 in the second half, but much to their credit, the Warriors didn’t quit.
They still trailed by 10 in the final minutes of the third quarter and trimmed it to 10 again in the final minute of the game.
But the large deficit built in the second eight minutes of play was too much to overcome.
“I can’t be more proud of the way they played. They didn’t give up and they didn’t roll over,” Gibbs said. “Nobody had us winning this game and nobody had us jumping on them the way we did in the first quarter. We might not have won on the scoreboard, but I think that was a win for us as a team.”
Tess Myers joined Lewandowski in double figures for North Catholic, scoring 10 of her 15 points in the first half.
Elizabeth Forward now sets its sights on the PIAA playoffs, while North Catholic advances to face Central Valley for the Class 4A championship Friday night at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center.
Tags: Elizabeth Forward, North Catholic
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