Bethlehem Catholic girls’ basketball coach Jose Medina always tells his Lady Hawks, “It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish.”

The District XI Class 5A final between Becahi and Bangor’s Lady Slaters started with a broken nose for one Lady Hawk and finished with a miraculous recovery for another in Becahi’s 46-39 victory over Bangor last Tuesday at the PPL Center.

Less than a week before the Hawks were crowned district champions, Kourtney Wilson suffered an injury to her right ankle that put her in a boot and on crutches, and although the junior guard didn’t start in the district final, she sure did finish.

“She willed this team to victory tonight,” said Coach Medina, whose Hawks and Lady Slaters were neck and neck for 32 minutes.

Becahi’s eight-point lead at the end of the third quarter evaporated in less than three minutes when Brynn Holland, Madeline Stout, and Madison Kluska combined for Bangor’s eight straight points.

“There were three minutes left, and I was like, this could be our last game, so I definitely got really pumped up, like I know when the energy’s flowing, you get rushy and stuff like that, so I was definitely feeling it,” Wilson said. “When the game was tied 34-34, I for sure had stuff going through my mind, like, I needed to take the game over if I can, but taking the game over isn’t just scoring. It’s finding the open teammate, getting good shots off.”

With 1:02 remaining, the Slaters had a one-point lead on a three pointer by Kluska when Wilson’s follow-up three rolled on the rim for a second or two before falling in.

“I looked at how the defense was moving, and Kiki (Walters) drove, and she kind of had the whole Bangor team on her, so I knew that I was there,” Wilson said.

Wilson was later fouled, sinking two, as was teammate Cydney Stanton, who was tough on the boards all night and sank one. Wilson finished it off with a seconds-remaining bucket.

“Cydney’s a hardworking kid who stepped in there when we lost (Kendra) Rigo, rebounded the ball there down the stretch, had some big putbacks for us. It’s great to see her have the type of success on this stage that she had tonight,” said Coach Medina.

Rigo pulled down the first rebound of the game when a Bangor player tried to grab the ball from her, out and up. Rigo left the game, and it was later reported that her nose was most likely broken.

“Give a lot of credit to Bangor. Coach Bisci had those girls ready to play,” Medina said. “Our group has battled all year. Every game has been like this, and we had some tough games early on where we lost, but now we’re turning the corner in the sense of tough games, and we come out victorious. It’s great when you have something tangible. This gold medal is something tangible that they can see and know the efforts, our work, we’re district champs.”

Bangor led after the first two quarters, but not before Becahi’s Cici Hernandez hit two consecutive threes, followed by a three-point play by Stanton and a trey in the opening eight minutes.

“The challenge, I would say, was getting back on defense. We struggled with that a lot, knowing where our man was at, but in the end, it came together,” Stanton said. “That’s the point of the press, trying to wear them out and hopefully they’ll turn the ball over, and that’s what they did, so we did our job today. Thanks to my teammates always supporting me, cheering me on. I think sometimes I heard them more than I did my coaches, but I love my teammates, and they’re a big part of what I did today.”

Bangor was called for two 10-second violations in the game, and Becahi was able to capitalize on one with a bucket by Stanton.

Wilson opened the third quarter with a three pointer, and teammate Stephanie Donato, who contributed on defense, also hit a three at the 5:50 mark in the same quarter.

Said Coach Medina, “We talk about, it’s not how you start, it’s always about how you finish and where you’re going, and where we’re going is the state playoffs, and we’re excited for that and looking forward to this opportunity to keep this thing moving.”