Looking for a spark, Bethlehem Catholic coach Jose Medina substituted players in and out during the first half of the East Penn Conference girls basketball final and found senior forward Stephanie Donato, who came off the bench to become the game’s MVP in Becahi’s 37-32 EPC championship final victory over Northampton on Thursday night at the PPL Center in Allentown.

“It feels great. No other way to put it,” Donato said. “It was hard at first. Shots weren’t hitting in the first half, and then we had our talk in the locker room, and it came out that my teammates had me the whole time, so it wouldn’t be possible without them for sure.”

After a sluggish offensive start for both teams, Northampton led 12-10 at halftime, but the first-half play wasn’t setting off any alarm bells for the Hawks.

“Stay confident in what we do and those shots will come,” Medina told his team at halftime. “As coaches, we squeeze them, but they’re so resilient to that and they’ve gotten better over the years at not taking it so personally. [In other words], ‘Coach, you’re challenging me.’ They take great pride in staying ready, and when you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.”

The tandem of Donato and sophomore starting guard Cici Hernandez traded shot-for-shot, some threes, and with extreme offensive patience, Becahi took a 26-22 lead into the fourth quarter.

“One thing we stress is movement of the ball to get the defense off balance, so patience is key, and I made that one shot, but the next three passes might give me or my teammates an even better shot,” Hernandez said.

“On the boards, [Northampton] is a lot bigger than us, so we had to get a lot tougher.”

Northampton guard Taylor Kranzley had seven of the K-Kids’ third-quarter points, and teammate Grace Lesko forced a turnover to tie the game before Hernandez’s three.

“We were looking for a spark: come in, play good defense, build your rope, and let’s see what can happen,” said Coach Medina.

Lesko had four points to start the fourth-quarter offense for the K-Kids, but it was never quite enough for Northampton despite converting six of eight free throws in the last eight minutes.

Hernandez’s three pointer and a putback by Becahi forward Kendra Rigo kept the Hawks a step ahead.

Then, with 1:31 remaining, Donato, who had missed the last several games due to a concussion she suffered in practice, drained a three pointer and was fouled a minute later, sinking both foul shots.

The PPL Center is also where Donato tore her ACL two years ago, playing with a brace on her leg all this season.

“She conquered. Think about it. You’re back in the same building where you tore your ACL. To see her and what she’s been through this year, the ups and downs like a roller coaster, she deserves every accolade, everything that comes her way,” Medina said. “And it’s great when you have something tangible...and you can say, look, this is what it was worth. I’m so happy for her.”

Donato received the Stacy Perryman Memorial Award for being the most outstanding female player in the EPC championship game.

“Coach reminded me to let the game come to me,” Donato said, “and I listened.”