Bethlehem Catholic’s girls basketball team hung with Allentown Central Catholic for two quarters, but the Vikettes pulled away in the third to claim a 54-47 victory over the Golden Hawks last Wednesday at Becahi.

“We knew what they were gonna come here and do, and we allowed them at times to be able to do it, and that’s where we’ve got to get better at identifying those things and taking those things away,” said Becahi coach Jose Medina. “Credit to them. They did a good job of running their stuff.”

Whether the problem was Central senior Julia Roth’s 23 points or something else, as Medina said, “The film don’t lie. She came to play. She’s a senior. She’s tough, and we just didn’t have an answer for her tonight.”

Becahi forward Kendra Rigo was also tough, pulling down rebounds and hitting a three pointer in the second quarter, the only quarter when Roth was scoreless. But Rigo ended up in foul trouble, much to the displeasure of Becahi fans.

The Hawks had scoring opportunities in the third quarter, but shots didn’t fall with the exception of Keyara Walters who drove the lane all night, had a game-high 25 points, and was 8 for 9 from the free-throw line.

“Kiki did a great job playing downhill, giving us everything she had on both ends, and that’s what Kiki does,” said Medina. “It was great to see her get off offensively, and we’ll definitely lean on that down the stretch.”

Central senior forward Hanna Hoenig scored six straight points in the fourth quarter, but Becahi guard Cici Hernandez had the hotter hand with three three-pointers and another attempt that rimmed out. Walters made up for that, draining a three pointer after a steal.

“Credit to their defense. Their defense was extending on [Cici] and taking her away (earlier in the game), so they did some good things tonight, and we’ll look at the film and use it to get better,” Medina said.

Hernandez’s last three pointer came with 40 seconds left in the game, and with the score 51-45, Becahi called a timeout. Then, Central guard Molly Driscoll was intentionally fouled and converted both free throws.

Hernandez tried another three pointer with 23 seconds remaining but missed.

The Hawks will have concluded their regular season, hosting Nazareth on Monday and Audenried Charter on Tuesday.