Josie Fontana knew when she saw the North Catholic girls basketball team’s defensive approach that Oakland Catholic would be in good shape. The Eagles senior forward immediately recognized the full-court defense the Trojanettes had chosen to employ.
When the teams met in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals Tuesday, North Catholic chose a different approach than when the teams clashed in their two section encounters.
“We noticed it was kind of like our press,” Fontana said. “We used our weaknesses, how teams break it down against us, and we threw it right back at them.”
The second-seeded Eagles smothered the Trojanettes during a 46-29 win at North Hills Middle School. North Catholic shot 21.9% (9-of-41) from the field and 15.4% from the 3-point line.
“We’ve got to be better, right?” North Catholic coach Molly Rottmann said. “That’s what we just talked about in there. If we all look at ourselves individually, we’ve got to be individually and collectively better. We have to handle the ball better. We’re going to have to make some layups and outside shots.”
Oakland Catholic (19-2) will get its opportunity to defend its WPIAL championship against No. 1 Blackhawk at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Petersen Events Center. The Eagles beat the Cougars, 52-50, in the championship game last season.
“It’s a great opportunity to win another championship,” Oakland Catholic coach Henry Schechter said. “Blackhawk is a good team. They were given the No. 1 seed. We felt that maybe we should have been the No. 1 seed. We are looking forward to going down there and playing them again.”
Oakland Catholic jumped on top of North Catholic. The Eagles opened the game on a 7-2 run, including five points from Fontana, who is a Richmond commit.
Fontana finished with 16 points and added eight rebounds.
North Catholic battled back to cut the deficit to 9-7 on a 3-pointer from Brady Wehner late in the first quarter. Wehner led North Catholic with 10 points.
The Trojanettes (19-6) never found a way to take the lead.
Oakland Catholic stretched its lead out to 24-13 by halftime. The Eagles did go through a nearly four-minute lull in the second quarter where they didn’t score.
“That’s typically how we roll,” Schechter said. “Sometimes, it’s a little uneven. We’ve got a number of players who can do a lot of different things. We’re better when we move the ball and when we pass the ball and cut hard.”
In the third quarter, North Catholic continued to struggle offensively, only making 1 of 7 shots from the field. Rottmann said she was happy the defense didn’t fade.
“I thought we kept playing hard,” Rottmann said. “I thought the press was effective early. I think even through the end of the game, I felt like our girls were scrapping defensively. We were just not in the flow on the offensive end.”
Zephaniah Troxler-Scott also finished with 10 points for the Eagles.
Fontana is ready for the challenge of trying to win another trophy.
“We have a chip on our shoulder because we’re No. 2,” Fontana said. “But there’s pressure because we are defending champions.”
