Bethlehem Catholic’s girls basketball team turned their Eastern Pennsylvania Conference quarterfinal upside down for the Easton Red Rovers in the third quarter and landed on the right side of the scoreboard, defeating Easton, 50-40, on Feb. 7 at Easton Area Middle School.

“Easton’s a good team, and we know they’re not gonna give us a win. We have to go out there and earn it,” said Bethlehem Catholic coach Arnold Allyene. “Defense is what changed the game and to be able to go into that press is what gave us that run. Without that run, we would not have been able to beat them. It was nip-tuck, nip-tuck. When we were able to create those opportunities, the tide changed. I was very proud of them for that.”

Becahi guard Kendall Nickischer’s free throw gave the Golden Hawks a one-point lead with 40 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The Hawks forced an immediate turnover, and Beca guard Leah Ault scored. Easton turned the ball over again, and Ault went up for two more points.

“Our whole team understood the assignment that creating pressure made them more uncontrolled, so because my teammates were denying and playing great defense, I was able to take that steal and take those easy layups,” Ault said. “That part was a whole team effort.”

On the third consecutive turnover, Beca forward Daviana Jones sank a 3-pointer to give the Hawks a 40-32 lead to close out the third quarter.

“That was amazing,” Jones said. “I’m a 3-point shooter, and I didn’t make one, so I was like, I need to do something that’s gonna help benefit my team, so when I saw the open shot, I was like, that’s the green light. We were like, this is our tempo. This is our gym now.

“[Easton] brought their band, they brought everyone they know, and we weren’t gonna let that get to us, so we decided we know how to play our game, and we put that forward. The last few minutes were tough...but my teammates made up for it heavily, and I’m so proud of them. We collectively did what we were supposed to do, we got our shots, and we got the win.”

Days before the EPC quarterfinal, the Hawks defeated the Red Rovers, comfortably, in a Becahi home game. But Easton’s gymnasium hasn’t been kind to the Hawks in the past, so Coach Allyene spent less time talking to his players and more time getting them comfortable on the basketball court.

“This gym has always been tough for us, so I wanted as much time as possible to be on the floor, so we came dressed, ready to play,” Allyene said. “We didn’t go to the locker room. I told the girls we’re gonna spend our time on the court. That’s what I cared about most- to have time on the floor to get better.”

Big home win aside, the Hawks worked on specific techniques in preparation for the rematch.

“We worked on guarding bigs,” said Jones. “Last game, (Easton’s Kourin) Carew, I’ll give her props, she was able to hook herself around me, and she was able to score on me a few times because I’m smaller than her, but today we made up for that. I was able to tip the ball away from her by getting in front of her with the right positioning. We worked on rotating faster to make sure shots weren’t getting up, and if they did, we made sure we boxed-out better.”

With momentum on their side for the fourth quarter, Beca forward Mekhyla Britt made a nice block on Easton guard Gabrielle Wismer, Beca guard Tess Tryanski drained a 3-pointer, Ault sank two free throws, and Britt, who made defensive stops all night, was fouled on a rebound.

In the first half, multiple 3-pointers kept Easton one step ahead of the Hawks, but on the first play of the second half, Nickisher forced a turnover and Palin Coleman had a layup followed by a 3-pointer.

Becahi center Mikaila Brooks also made timely plays throughout the game, adding 7 points for the Hawks.

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Liberty’s girls also competed in an EPC quarterfinal against Nazareth on Feb. 3 at Liberty.

The Hurricanes led after each quarter, but Nazareth’s comeback led to a Blue Eagles win, 48-40.

Liberty guard Ava Kopetskie led all scorers with 20 points, but Nazareth’s 18 points in the fourth quarter between Renee Wells and Peyton Long proved too much for the Hurricanes with nine points in the frame.