North Catholic girls handle Highlands to earn another trip to WPIAL finals

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, February 28, 2023 | 10:01 PM

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There weren’t many secrets Tuesday at Gateway as section rivals North Catholic and Highlands met in a WPIAL Class 4A girls semifinal with a trip to Saturday’s championship game on the line.

The sixth-seeded Golden Rams hoped the third time would be the charm after the No. 2 Trojanettes took both regular-season matchups.

But North Catholic had other ideas. Three players scored in double figures, led by 19 from junior guard Alayna Rocco, as the Trojanettes pulled away from the Golden Rams for a 63-45 victory.

“This never gets old. This is awesome,” North Catholic coach Molly Rottman said about securing a spot in the WPIAL title game. “Every year, it’s better. This group is excited, and they’re a good group. I am super proud of them and am excited for their opportunities.”

North Catholic (21-3) will face No. 1 Blackhawk in Saturday’s title game at 3 p.m. at Petersen Events Center.

The Cougars earned the other spot in the final with a 51-40 victory over Quaker Valley.

“It’s amazing, especially going against Blackhawk,” Rocco said. “We didn’t do so well against them last year (63-37 loss), so it’s kind of a redemption (game) where we know we can compete with them. They are a very good team. I am really excited.”

The Trojanettes are seeking their WPIAL-record 22nd WPIAL title, their second in a row and their sixth in seven years.

They have won 15 in a row and have lost just one game against a WPIAL team this season, a 61-45 setback to Class 6A semifinalist Norwin in late December.

Highlands (16-8) has a quick turnaround. It will take on No. 4 Quaker Valley on Thursday in the Class 4A third-place consolation game at a site and time to be announced.

“We’ll get into practice tomorrow and come up with a gameplan pretty quickly,” Highlands coach Shawn Bennis said. “It’s about fine-tuning some things and learning from this game but then also putting that behind us and moving forward.”

Senior guard Anna Waskiewicz added 14 points for North Catholic, with 10 of the 14 coming in the first half.

Junior guard Ava Walker was strong down the stretch, with eight of her 11 points coming in the fourth quarter.

Senior Akron commit Dacia Lewandowski was limited to five points, but she was strong with eight rebounds.

Highlands hung tough and closed to within 35-29 with 4:17 left in the third quarter on a three-point play — a jumper and free throw — from junior Jocelyn Bielak.

But North Catholic responded with a 9-0 run to close the quarter.

“We stopped settling and really found and made the extra pass,” Rottman said. “People were getting good looks.”

All nine points in the late-third quarter run came from Rocco, who totaled 12 points in the quarter.

“It was my footwork,” Rocco said about her third-quarter surge. “I definitely needed to step into the ball more. I was fading away a lot. Once I stepped into the ball with my follow through, it started to go in. It felt good.”

North Catholic all but salted the game away early in the fourth as a jumper from sophomore Sarah Loughry and a 3-pointer from Walker extended the lead to 49-31.

After a slow start that saw her tally just three points on a first-quarter field goal from beyond the arc, Highlands junior Katelyn Myers scored 11 in the second half and finished with a team-best 14.

She collected four 3-pointers overall.

Fellow Golden Rams junior Kalleigh Nerone added 13 points. Eleven of her 13 came in the first half, including seven in the second quarter.

“North Catholic is extremely well-coached, and they have a very good team,” Bennis said. “I told the girls that they have been here before, and it was our first time getting here. A loss isn’t a loss if you learn from it. I think we forced some things when it still was an eight- or 10-point ballgame. Us learning more about playing from behind, eight to 10 points is not a huge deal when we’ve just got to get better and don’t think we have to catch up in two shots.”

Bennis said Bielak picking up her third foul with 6:53 to go until halftime and having to sit took away some of the Golden Rams’ effectiveness. Bielak scored seven of her eight points in the third quarter.

“I think she played about three minutes total in the first half,” Bennis said.

“She led us in scoring last game. She’s a great defender and a good rebounder.”

North Catholic got on the board eight seconds into the game as the Trojanettes won the tip, and Walker put in a layup.

After that opening score, North Catholic went on a 5:30 scoring drought.

Highlands was only able to manage six points during that stretch on a layup from Tyarah Woody and a layup and a pair of free throws from Nerone.

“We missed a couple of shots and were playing tight,” Rottman said. “We started out playing not to lose instead of playing to win. We didn’t play aggressively and were settling for some shots. I think it was a little jitters, and Highlands came out prepared.”

A 3-pointer from Myers at the 1:22 mark of the first put the Golden Rams ahead 9-5.

The Trojanettes responded with a 10-0 run that stretched 1:07 into the second quarter for a 15-9 advantage.

Highlands and North Catholic played fairly even over the remainder of the second quarter. Nerone sank a pair of free throws with 46 seconds on the clock to draw the Golden Rams to within four at 22-18, and that was the score as the team’s headed to the halftime locker rooms.

“Highlands is a good, well-coached team,” Rottman said. “They run their stuff well. They didn’t fall apart when we made that (first-half) run. They weathered that and kept battling. I wouldn’t want to run into them a fourth time. I hope they are on the other side of the (PIAA) bracket.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Highlands, North Catholic