North Catholic girls fend off challenge from Laurel, eye 5th straight WPIAL title

By: George Guido
Wednesday, March 10, 2021 | 8:34 PM

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For nearly three quarters Wednesday night, North Catholic’s quest for a seventh consecutive trip to the WPIAL finals was receiving a solid challenge from Laurel.

But like many strong programs do, the Trojanettes put it all together and rolled to a 57-36 victory over the Spartans in a Class 3A semifinal.

After a free throw by Johnna Hill cut North Catholic’s lead to 32-29 with 1 minute, 13 seconds left in the third period, the Trojanettes went on a 17-3 run to put the game out of reach.

North Catholic (18-2) will go for its fifth straight WPIAL crown against Mohawk at 5 p.m. Saturday at North Allegheny. The WPIAL record is seven straight girls titles set by Penn Hills from 1989-95.

“We talked about how we really attacked well in the first half,” said Trojanettes coach Molly Rottmann. “I just think in the third quarter, we became impatient on offense. We were forcing things. I called a time out in the third quarter to talk about it again, and I was proud of them because they fixed it.”

Sophomore Dacia Lewandowski and freshman Alayna Rocco led the way with 13 points each, and freshman Ava Walker pulled down 12 rebounds.

Laurel (18-3) was within striking distance much of the time, and coach Matt Stebbins felt good going into the fourth period.

“We got it down to seven going into the fourth,” the fifth-year coach said. “I thought we had a chance, and it just got out of hand.”

Lewandowski’s basket with 3 seconds left in the third period put North up, 37-29. Rocco started the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer from the left corner, and Anna Waskiewicz’s steal along with a two straight 3-pointers from Tori Drevna suddenly put the Trojanettes ahead, 47-32, three minutes later.

A basket by Walker midway through the first period put North Catholic in front for good at 8-5. The Trojanettes committed just one turnover the entire first half, with the miscue coming with 2:02 to go in the half.

Said Rottmann: “I thought we handled the ball well against their zone. We’ve been working on a zone offense because we’ve been seeing a lot more of it. I think our kids really did a good job.”

Rottmann also was happy how her team kept Laurel scoreless over the last five minutes of the half while building a 27-20 lead at the intermission.

Sophomore Reese Bintrim had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Spartans while another sophomore, Regan Atkins, collected 11 rebounds. Laurel had no seniors on the team and only one junior, guard Lucia Lombardo.

“We came in with only six girls that had any playing time and we made that hard bump up to 3A,” Stebbins said. “They elevated their game, and we did well.”

North Catholic will be chasing its 21st WPIAL title. After competing for so many championships in places like A.J. Palumbo Center and the Petersen Events Center, Rottmann doesn’t mind playing in a high school gym.

“This is just as sweet and just as special as any of them,” Rottmann said. “We got the season in, and the fact that this young group has been successful as it has been is so much fun. It’s more about getting a championship for this group.”

As for Laurel, it was just the second semifinal appearance in school history after losing to Brentwood in 2019.

Tags: Laurel, North Catholic