North Catholic fends off gallant Lady Warriors, 64-50
Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard
Elizabeth Forward’s Julia Jenkins (2) leads a break up court with teammates Juria Flournoy (right) and Bri Spirnak after forcing a North Catholic turnover during Monday night’s WPIAL Class AAAA semifinal playoff game at North Allegheny.
Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard
Elizabeth Forward’s Bri Spirnak grabs a rebound against North Catholic during Monday night’s WPIAL Class AAAA semifinal playoff game at North Allegheny. Spirnak totaled 18 points and 14 rebounds but the Lady Warriors lost, 64-50.
Elizabeth Forward's Bailie Brinson (left) forces a jump ball against North Catholic's Dani Short during Monday night's WPIAL Class AAAA semifinal playoff game at North Allegheny.
Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard
Elizabeth Forward’s Julia Jenkins shoots a 3-pointer against North Catholic during their WPIAL Class AAAA semifinal playoff game at North Allegheny on Feb. 25. Jenkins hit five 3-pointers for 15 points but the Lady Warriors lost, 64-50. EF opens PIAA play 4:30 p.m. Saturday against Villa Maria at Edinboro University.
Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard
Elizabeth Forward’s Juria Flournoy (23) drives past North Catholic’s Emma Pospisil (2) during Monday night’s WPIAL Class AAAA semifinal playoff game at North Allegheny.
Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard
Elizabeth Forward’s Bri Spirnak shoots a 3-pointer against North Catholic as Lady Warriors coach Krystal Gibbs looks on from the sideline during Monday night’s WPIAL Class AAAA semifinal playoff game at North Allegheny. Spirnak made two 3-pointers in scoring 18 points but the Lady Warriors lost, 64-50.
Rob Burchianti | Herald-Standard
Elizabeth Forward’s Julia Jenkins squares up as prepares to shoot a 3-pointer against North Catholic during Monday night’s WPIAL Class AAAA semifinal playoff game at North Allegheny. Jenkins hit five 3-pointers for 15 points but the Lady Warriors lost, 64-50.
WEXFORD — Elizabeth Forward knocked top-seeded North Catholic on its heels early but the Trojanettes’ powerful counter-punch soon after proved to be the difference in Monday night’s WPIAL Class AAAA girls semifinal playoff game.
The Lady Warriors rode five 3-pointers in the opening period to a 19-14 lead before top-seeded North Catholic delivered a barrage of six 3-pointers in a 24-3 run to start the second frame to take control.
The Trojanettes held off EF from there for a 64-50 victory in the Herald-Standard Game of the Week at North Allegheny Senior High School to advance to Friday’s championship game against second-seeded Central Valley.
Elizabeth Forward had claimed a section title, two playoff wins and a spot in the PIAA tournament heading into Monday night’s battle but fell just short in its quest to play for a WPIAL title.
“I’m very proud of them,” EF coach Krystal Gibbs said of her team. “They came out so strong. There’s no reason for them to hang their heads today. EF, we’re home-grown kids, and they played well.”
Kylee Lewandowski hit four of her five 3-pointers in the deciding second quarter on her way to a game-high 24 points for NC, and Tess Myers sank two of her three treys in the second frame in scoring 15 points.
Bri Spirnak played her usual strong game for the Lady Warriors, scoring 18 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, to go along with 14 rebounds, three assists, one steal and one blocked shot.
Julia Jenkins broke out of a recent shooting slump in a big way by scoring 15 points on five 3-pointers and added four assists for EF. Juria Flournoy chipped in with a pair of treys in scoring eight points and also had four assists.
Spirnak scored seven points and Flournoy hit a 3-pointer as Elizabeth Forward jumped out to 10-5 lead in the opening minutes. Jenkins then hit a pair of treys and Spirnak added another late in the quarter to give the No. 5 seed Lady Warriors a five-point advantage.
There was a bit of desperation in NC coach Molly Rottmann’s speech to the girls after the opening eight minutes, according to Lewandowski.
“She told us it was do-or-die,” the 6-foot-1 junior said. “She said if you want to make it to the WPIAL championship then you’ve got to do it now.
“We kept telling each other when we were missing shots early on, ‘Hey, they’re going to fall, they’re going to fall.’ I think that gave us the confidence to keep shooting and then starting hitting them.”
The Trojanettes certainly did in the second period.
With Lewandowski and Myers combining for six treys, North Catholic’s 24-3 explosion gave it a 38-22 lead late in the second period.
Elizabeth Forward’s only points in NC’s run came on a 3-pointer by Jenkins.
Reeling, the Lady Warriors got a big boost in the final moments of the first half on consecutive 3-pointers by Haylee Briggs which cut the gap to 38-28.
The Trojanettes got 3-pointers from a couple different sources early in the third period as Emma Pospisil and Lucy Waskiewicz each hit from long distance to spark a 9-2 run that gave NC its biggest lead, 47-30.
Elizabeth Forward fought back as Flournoy dropped in a pair of shots, including a trey, wrapped around a bucket by Spirnak to make it 47-37.
Myers nailed a pair of 3-pointers in the final 1:43 of the third period to reverse the momentum and give NC a 53-37 advantage.
There was no quit in the Lady Warriors, though.
Jenkins drained two more 3-pointers and Spirnak added four points in a 10-5 spurt to make it 58-47 with 2:50 left, and Bailie Brinson’s three-point play with 52 seconds remaining again cut the gap to 10 at 60-50, but EF hit four straight free throws the rest of the way to seal it.
There were 22 made 3-pointers on the night, 11 by each team. North Catholic’s strength inside was a big factor as it out-rebounded EF 37-28. Short, a 6-2 senior center, had nine points and 12 rebounds, Myers grabbed eight rebounds and Lewandowski had seven boards.
“Short’s big, she takes up a lot of space,” Gibbs said. “She’s a good player. Lewandowski, she’s long. They’re a lot longer, our height was not to our advantage tonight.”
Jenkins’ long-range shooting kept EF in the game and drew praise from her coach.
“I think it gave us a huge lift and I think it gave her a lift, too, because she was a little down there for a little bit,” said Gibbs, referring to her senior guard’s shooting woes in the first two playoff games.
“I felt pretty good in warm-ups,” Jenkins said. “During practice I worked really hard and my teammates backed me up and always kept confidence in me and I think that’s what kept me going into this game.”
Gibbs lauded her entire team for the fight it showed against the talented Trojanettes.
“They never quit and I couldn’t ask for anything else,” Gibbs said.
It’s to be expected from the Lady Warriors, according to Jenkins.
“That’s who we are. We never stop,” Jenkins said. “We always fight together. We always stick together. We work hard all the time. I knew we weren’t going to give up at any point in that game.”
EF’s effort drew praise from Lewandowski.
“They’re really good. They’re a tough team,” she said. “They’re tough inside, they don’t give you anything easy, they’ll fight you for the rebounds.”
The Lady Warriors will begin PIAA play on either March 8 or 9.