Bethlehem Catholic’s road to the state final came to an end on Saturday when Philly ball got the best of the Lady Hawks and they lost to Cardinal O’Hara, 64-55, in the PIAA State Class 5A quarterfinal at Cardinal O’Hara High School.

It was late in the first quarter when the Lions took an eight-point lead, and Becahi coach Jose Medina called a timeout.

Two free throws and a bucket by Becahi forward Cydney Stanton off a steal by Kiki Walters, and two more points by guard Kourtney Wilson ended the quarter 19-13 Lions.

Seven-straight points by O’Hara’s Maggie Doogan and Siobhan Boylan led to another Becahi timeout early in the second quarter. The Hawks returned with three pointers by Wilson and Cici Hernandez, but Doogan answered with five points for the Lions. After a bucket by Beca center Akasha Santos on a spin move, the Hawks’ defense held the Lions for 40 seconds, which took the teams to the half when O’Hara led 35-24.

“At that moment we were playing like we should. It didn’t carry over. I feel like we played hard till the end and it didn’t go the way we planned, but next year’s our year,” said Hernandez. “This year was a bonding year, learning how each other plays, learning our strengths and weaknesses. Next year, we already know each other. Next year, we already have that connection, so our team’s gonna’ be scary next year. I’m really proud. People expected us not to win as many games, not to even be here, so this year was showing them.”

Not only did the Hawks have to work through a season of COVID-19 precautions and delays, they also had to work through the loss of six seniors from last year’s squad, three seniors and a junior from this year’s squad due to injuries or COVID, and an ineligible senior transfer. Two of this year’s starters are freshmen, one is a sophomore and two are juniors. But Coach Medina and the Hawks are not about moral victories.

“We got it down to six at one point, and credit to these kids, they battled. This is a tough place to play here. It was their day this afternoon. I’m super proud of this group,” Medina said. “We wanted to come out here and get a W and keep this thing moving forward, but we’ll use this experience to benefit our program, benefit our kids, and what we do moving forward.”

In the third quarter, threes by Hernandez and Kendra Rigo along with two points by Wilson pulled the Hawks closer but still trailing 39-33. O’Hara’s Sydney Scott matched both threes and the Lions led 48-37 with one quarter left.

“There were definitely some things we could have done better. This is Philly ball down here, and I told them we could definitely win this game. We definitely could’ve, but I don’t think some of them were ready for the speed of the game, stuff like that,” said Wilson. “Last game we came out with defensive intensity, but this game it seemed like it kind of got lackadaisical, like it was going to be easy or something like that, so with us getting relaxed, not getting back on defense, not doing the little things that hook them up, it was a deficit we couldn’t come back from.”

Wilson had 25 points for Becahi, scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter. Six of those points came on three pointers. Two more resulted from a turnover when Hernandez fed the ball to Wilson underneath. That brought the Hawks to within seven points, but O’Hara pulled away into double digits on foul shots by Annie Welde and Scott.

“Kourtney came out here and put this team on her back today,” said Medina. “She laid it all out here tonight, and it’s unfortunate we came out on the short end. We’ll use this experience only to get better. Just staying hungry. That’s what we want to do.”