North Catholic has been a thorn in the side for Freeport ever since 2016 when the two were thrown together in the same section as the state expanded to six classifications.
In that time the two teams had played eight Class 4A Section 1 games and all eight times the Yellowjackets walked off the court with a loss.
Then the two met Saturday afternoon in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A playoffs and, for a half, it appeared Freeport would finally get past its nemesis and end the Trojanettes season in the process. And that was when North Catholic did it to the Yellowjackets again.
Kylee Lewandowski scored 15 of her 18 points in the second half and helped spark a 30-4 run with the team trailing by eight midway through the third quarter as North Catholic (25-1) shrugged off a sluggish first half and rolled to a 58-43 victory against Freeport (17-8) at Kiski Area.
Tess Myers led all scorers with 22 points and also pulled down 11 rebounds as North Catholic moved into the second round of the tournament for the sixth consecutive season. The Trojanettes now have defeated Freeport — which got 13 from Samantha Clark — in nine in a row.
Other Class 4A
Villa Maria 62, Blackhawk 43: Robert Morris recruit Mackenzie Amalia tied the school record with 181 assists on the season and finished her career second on the Cougars all-time scoring list with 1,794 points, but she was held to nine by the Victors defense and sophomore Carissa Dunham hit five 3-pointers as part of her game-high 26 as the District 10 champions (20-4) took control early and never let Blackhawk (20-5) into the game.
Lancaster Catholic 73, Indiana 50: Lancaster Catholic (26-3) rolled out to a 16-point halftime lead and breezed past the Little Indians and into the second round. Eve Fiala scored 15 of her game-high 26 points in a futile second-half comeback attempt for Indiana (14-11).
Central Valley 59, Punxsutawney 56: Allyson Kirby hit a 3-pointer at the end of the regulation to send the game to overtime and Christiane Frye scored seven of her game-high 25 in the extra frame as the Warriors (19-4) knocked off the District 9 champion Chucks (19-5).
Southmoreland 57, Huntingdon 29: The Scotties (25-1) shrugged off their first loss of the season and made a splash in their PIAA debut as Olivia Cernuto scored 10 of her 16 points in the first half to lead three Southmoreland players in double figures as the school won its first-ever state playoff game.
Class 5A
Chartiers Valley 72, Warren 39: On the surface this was just another win for the Colts as they move toward their second consecutive perfect season, but this one made history. Or at least tied it as Chartiers Valley (26-0) got 23 points from Perri Page to lead four players in double figures as the Colts tied Don Barth’s legendary North Catholic teams (1987-89) with their WPIAL-record 56th consecutive victory and can set it Wednesday against Hollidaysburg.
Trinity 54, Penn Hills 29: Indians leading scorer, junior Amoni Blackwell, sat out for unspecified reasons and the Hillers had a field day. Courtney Dahlquict scored 13 and Ashley Durig 12 as Trinity (20-5) rebounded from a disappointing loss to Chartiers Valley in the WPIAL championship with a victory against Penn Hills (12-13) at South Fayette.
Thomas Jefferson 62, Portage 30: The Jaguars had eight 3-pointers, led by Graci Fairman with three as part of her 19 points and Alyssa DeAngelo and Maddy Trainer with 15 apiece, as Thomas Jefferson (19-7) breezed into the second round with the win at Mount Aloysius College.
Woodland Hills 69, Grove City 26: The Wolverines (20-5) made 29 of 54 shots from the field as Jasmyn Fisher led the way with 16 in a relatively easy first-round victory against the District 10 champion Eagles (22-4).
Class 1A
Rochester 69, Otto-Eldred 40: Corynne Hauser had 11 of her 22 points in the third quarter as the Rams (25-1) ousted their District 9 foe.
North Clarion 47, Sewickley Academy 36: Mackenzie Bauer scored 12 of her 18 points in the first half and Abby Gatesman chipped in 13 as the District 9 runners-up (25-1) made short work of the Panthers (14-12) at Clarion University.
Kennedy Catholic 52, West Greene 38: Elizabeth Brudnock scored 16 for the Pioneers (24-2) who finished their season with back-to-back losses as Malia Magestro scored a game-high 24 to lead the Eagles (21-3) to the win.
Coudersport 48, Avella 41: District 9 champion Coudersport (22-4) jumped on the Eagles (17-8) from the opening tip as Sarah Chambers scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half and led four players in double-figures in the win at St. Marys High School. Freshman Katie Dryer had 10 for Avella.
First Published: March 8, 2020, 4:27 a.m.
