N. Catholic wins third title in a row

It was a matchup that those familiar with WPIAL girls basketball might have seen coming long ago.

Since the North Catholic Trojanettes and Blackhawk Cougars ran through their Class 4A schedule for the third consecutive year, it came as no surprise when the two programs found themselves matched up against each other for the second year in a row with a WPIAL title on the line.

The duel lived up to the hype.

Trojanettes guard Alayna Rocco scored a game-high 26 points to lead No. 2 seeded North Catholic (17-7) to a 40-37 overtime victory against the Cougars (22-3) Saturday afternoon at Petersen Events Center. It’s the third WPIAL title in a row for North Catholic and a WPIAL girls basketball-leading 23rd championship overall.

The victory was North Catholic coach Molly Rottmann’s 12th WPIAL championship and moved her past late North Catholic coach Don Barth, who won 11 titles as the head coach of the program.

“It feels amazing,” Rocco, a Harvard commit, said after the game.

She found her stride in the second half and helped erase a five-point deficit entering the fourth quarter. Rocco also scored 17 of the Trojanettes’ final 19 points.

“She is a super smart player. [She’s a] coach’s kid. Very good IQ,” Rottmann said. “We realized they were all over [freshman guard Brady Wehner]. That’s been happening the last couple games because of [Wehner’s] outside shooting, so we realized they were hugging her. Rocco was able to take advantage of that gap and did a great job with it.”

North Catholic’s defense held Blackhawk to just 1-for-11 shooting in the first quarter, while forcing six turnovers. Still, the Cougars’ defense, which allowed a WPIAL-low 27.5 points per game, was just as stingy. Despite shooting just 18% in the first half, the Cougars defense was able to keep the game within a possession. Blackhawk then went on a 9-2 run in the last five minutes of the third quarter to take a five-point lead.

After leveling the score, 34-34, the Trojanettes nearly ended the game in regulation. In the final 10 seconds of the game, North Catholic missed a corner 3-pointer, and then had a layup roll off the rim as the clock expired.

Blackhawk had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but two 3-pointers fell short in the final 15 seconds, and the clock expired. Rocco, who scored all six points for the Trojanettes in overtime, put the bow on her night with a key block in the final possession of the game.

After the game, Rottmann praised her team’s defense for stepping up in a big way to limit Blackhawk senior Alena Fusetti and sophomore Aubree Hupp, the team’s top-scorers, to a combined 22 points.

Finishing off the WPIAL season with an overtime thriller was very fitting for the Trojanettes, whose championship came none too easy. North Catholic was dealt a blow in late-December when they lost senior leader Ava Walker to a season-ending injury. Still, the team persevered and found a way to come out on top.

“I think it’s a range of emotions. Every year is its own journey,” Rottmann said. “This one was pretty awesome.”

Barth served as a mentor for Rottmann, so the accomplishment was understandably emotional for the coach.

“He’s iconic to me, so in my own mind I’m never going to pass Mr. Barth,” she said. “He’s the best that was ever out there. Just to have your name linked with his is a pretty big compliment.

“ I’m going to call Mrs. Barth. I want to do this to make him proud. That’s really my motivation.”