Philly ball came to Bethlehem Catholic last week when District 12’s Imhotep Charter visited the Golden Hawks on Jan. 11 for the sixth straight meeting between the girls’ basketball teams.

“Last year, they got us by 30 at their place, so this was a great win for us,” said Becahi coach Jose Medina, whose Hawks topped the Panthers last Wednesday night, 48-39. “Twenty-four hours earlier, we lost a tough one here against Nazareth, but I try to tell these kids, we have all the talent in the world here. It’s when we’re doing things together and trusting in one another that things like this begin to happen.”

Becahi jumped out to an 11-3 lead, but Tep pulled closer with six straight points on buckets by Ky’janae Cooper, Samya Stevens, and Torii Evans to end the first quarter.

“We talked about our transition defense because this team likes to get up and down the floor,” said Coach Medina, “so make sure we get back and find the basketball and build a fence.”

On offense, the Hawks had drained seven 3-pointers by halftime on contributions from Cici Hernandez, Kendra Rigo, and Ella Bincarosky and led 25-15.

“They presented a style of play, I won’t say we don’t normally see, but it’s a little different from what we play against in our league as far as them being able to shoot the ball as well as they can from the outside,” said Imhotep Charter coach Dave Hargrove, “so that was a challenge for us, and it took a little while for us to adjust to, and I think it’s going to help us get better.”

Yarian Fernandez opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer for Becahi, Hernandez drove to the basket for two more points, and Fernandez made an easy layup off a pass from Hernandez.

Cooper knocked down a 3 for the Panthers, followed by a bucket from Calista Gaymon.

Well into the third quarter, Becahi forward Akasha Santos scored on a quick pass from Hernandez that originated from Fernandez in transition.

“That was a nice play,” said Hernandez. “I really trust my bigs, so getting them the ball is easy, because if I get them the ball under the hoop, I know it’s going in. Seeing us putting trust in our game, moving forward, trusting our abilities and strengths is what’s going to push us through.”

Hernandez believes that trust is what was missing in the Hawks’ losses to Nazareth and Liberty.

“It has been a rough week, but I feel like that prepared us for this game,” she said. “Always, Philly ball is a different kind of aggressiveness. The pressure is different, the play is kind of like pickup, but a lot of our girls have been around that, so it was an adjustment for some, but most of us are used to that. It was good basketball.”

Coach Hargrove wanted to see even more energy from his Panthers in the second half.

“Our energy, defensively, was much higher than our focus, offensively. As far as where we wanted to get the ball and try to score from, it was a little more focused than it was in the first half,” Hargrove said.

Both coaches compared their annual contest to a state playoff game.

“Anytime we can play a Philadelphia Public School team, they play a tough schedule, and Coach Dave Hargrove does a wonderful job with his program, and it’s good from a physicality standpoint for our girls,” said Medina.

The game put Becahi’s record at 8-5 and Imhotep Charter’s record at 6-5.

“This was a great game for us to come play because I knew that the energy was gonna be for them to get us back from last year, and our kids need to be in that environment and learn how to compete the way we need them to for playoffs,” Hargrove said. “Getting in the van, driving for an hour, hour-and-a-half, getting out, and being ready to play basketball is what you’ve got to do at states, and we’ve got to be ready to do that. Anytime we can get a game at that distance, it’s always good for our preparation down the road.”