PIAA Class 4A girls championship breakdown: North Catholic vs. Bethlehem Catholic

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, March 23, 2019 | 3:42 AM

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PIAA Class 4A girls championship

North Catholic vs. Bethlehem Catholic

Noon, Saturday at Giant Center, Hershey

TV: PCN

North Catholic (26-3)

Coach: Molly Rottmann

No., Name, Pos., Ht., Yr.

2, Emma Pospisil, G, 5-5, Jr.

3, Cassie Foster, G, 5-7, Jr.

21, Kylee Lewandowski, G, 6-1, Jr.

23, Tess Myers, G, 5-10, Jr.

24, Dani Short, F, 6-2, Sr.

Bethlehem Catholic (26-4)

Coach: Jose Medina

2, Isabelle Rosario, G, 5-5, Jr.

3, Jaleesa Lanier, G, 5-4, Jr.

5, Briana Barnard, F, 5-9, Sr.

13, Kourtney Wilson, G, 5-9, Fr.

22, Abby Brown, C, 5-10, Jr.

How they got here: District 11 champion Bethlehem Catholic defeated Carver E&S, 68-19, Gwynedd, 44-33, Danville, 60-37, and Bonner-Prendergast, 64-50. WPIAL champion North Catholic defeated McKeesport, 58-42, Blackhawk, 47-41, Villa Maria, 61-41, and Mifflinburg, 58-46.

Notable: These two schools met in the 1993 PIAA Class 3A finals and North Catholic won 62-52. North Catholic is 8-5 all-time in PIAA championships. The Trojanettes last won a state title in 2016. Myers (15.4 points) and Lewandowski (15.0) are North Catholic’s leading scorers. Short is third at 11.5 ppg. They’re also the top three rebounds: Short 6.9, Lewandowski 5.8 and Myers 5.5. Myers lists scholarship offers from William & Mary, St. Bonaventure, LaSalle, Charlotte and Kent State. Lewandowski has Quinnipiac, Marshall and Bucknell. Rottmann, who won her 400th game in January, owns PIAA titles as both a coach and player. She won as a player in 1988 with North Catholic. Wilson is Bethlehem Catholic’s leading scorer at 11.5 ppg. The Golden Hawks are 1-2 all-time in PIAA finals with their lone win in 2017. Bethlehem Catholic junior Taliyah Medina, a 6-1 forward and two-time all-state pick, was sidelined all season by injury.

Preview story: North Catholic girls hope defense shines against Bethlehem Catholic

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: North Catholic