“Kiki down the stretch” could become a new chant for Bethlehem Catholic’s Lady Hawks after senior guard Keyara “Kiki” Walters hit her second clutch three pointer in four days to catapult Becahi to a 45-40 victory over Easton in the East Penn Conference girls basketball semifinal last Tuesday at PPL Center in Allentown.

“Kiki down the stretch against Central. Kiki down the stretch tonight. She did a great job,” said Becahi coach Jose Medina, “and she’d be the first one to say that setup came from a pass, and that’s what we talked about all year, making the extra pass and doing the little things it takes to come out on top.”

Not only did Walters repeat history, so did the Hawks in the third quarter, specifically against the Red Rovers, but this time, Becahi rewrote the outcome against Easton.

“Been there, done that before,” Coach Medina said. “We’re up on Easton, they start to claw back, they take the lead. And for two games, we let it get away, and to be down six or seven going into the fourth, just to stay there, to keep pushing, to keep fighting, and to get over the mountain was just a great effort from our girls.”

In the first meeting between Becahi and Easton, the Hawks lost by one point. In their second meeting, the Hawks lost by 15 points.

How did the Hawks rewrite history?

“We said, ‘Let’s not get beat by things we already know.’ We did the little things right in the fourth quarter, we had the momentum, and then they played harder and the ball seemed to find them,” Medina explained.

Trailing 35-29, Becahi’s Cydney Stanton and Kendra Rigo converted two free throws apiece, and Cici Hernandez had a bucket to tie the game after Easton’s Sara Tamoun landed two foul shots of her own.

With 40 seconds remaining, Walters drained a three, putting the Hawks up by one point.

“When we started getting steals at the end, that made me feel comfortable and made us feel like we had the energy to beat them,” Walters said.

Easton’s Makenna Zimmerman missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Hernandez was fouled on the rebound, sinking two.

“I think on defense, being able to rotate helped us get the momentum on offense and be able to feel confident,” said Walters, who drained a three pointer seconds before the first quarter buzzer and seconds into the second quarter.

On defense, Stanton, who also knocked down a three in the second, forced turnovers all night.

“At practice, we worked on some things that wouldn’t necessarily work against Central but would work against Easton,” Stanton said. “Our coaches telling us, guiding us from the bench, telling us where to be at the right moment, I think that’s how we force turnovers and get steals. And Kiki locking up on defense, that played a really big part because I think it got them nervous, and we were able to jump on that and attack.”

Adding to the Hawks’ accomplishment on Monday night was being that team, the team that ruined Easton’s undefeated season.

The Red Rovers’ third quarter erased its seven-point deficit, highlighted by two threes from Tamoun, and five points from Anye’ Staton, who was trouble in the paint for the Hawks in their first meeting on Jan. 24. Staton’s three pointer to end Tuesday night’s third quarter was a momentum shift for Easton, but the Hawks’ defense created its offense, drawing four fouls early in the fourth quarter, and the rest... is history.