Becahi shows depth in victory
Unsung players Yarian Fernandez and Allyah Brame hit 3-pointers to begin the fourth quarter and Bethlehem Catholic hit all its free throws down the stretch to lead the fifth-seeded Golden Hawks past host and No. 4 seed Parkland, 52-41, in an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference tournament quarterfinal girls basketball game on Friday night.
“Allyah and Yarian, yes those 3-pointers were huge,” Hawks coach Jose Medina said of the pair that gave his team a 40-31 lead to begin the fourth quarter. “Allyah has played during the season so this moment wasn’t too big for her. Yarian’s a stalwart for us defensively and is capable of hitting big shots.”
Parkland missed three 3-pointers that could have tied the score in a 30-second span with the last coming with 2:05 left. Becahi went 6-for-6 from the foul line the rest of the game.
The Golden Hawks are seeking their sixth straight EPC/ LVC championship under Medina.
There was no conference tournament in the COVID interrupted 2020-21 season. Only Central Catholic, from 2000-05, has won as many as six straight EPC/LVC titles.
Cici Hernandez and Ella Bincarosky each finished with 13 points and Kendra Rigo added 10 for the Golden Hawks. Talia Zurinskas led the Trojans with 17.
“Everybody played well,” Medina said. “Ella did a great job shooting the ball with confidence. We tell them if you get a clean look let it go and we’ve been like that all year. Ella did a good job stepping up when we needed her.”
Bethlehem Catholic (15-8) will meet undefeated and top-seeded Easton (22-0) in the semifinal round at PPL Center on Monday. The Red Rovers beat the Hawks twice in the regular season, 51-22 on Dec. 16 and 55-52 on Jan. 27.
“We’ll look at the film and learn from it,” Medina said. “For us, we welcome the challenge. Easton is a great team and is well coached. We’ll have our hands full. But we’ll enjoy this one tonight and get ready for them tomorrow.”
Parkland (15-8), which has lost seven of its last 11 games after staring the season 11-1, will now prepare to defend its Class 6A District 11 tournament championship.
“We tried our best but some of our shots just weren’t falling,” Parkland coach Ed Ohlson said. “That’s basketball. We’re still right there with everybody.”
The victory was also Medina’s 200th career win since he became the Golden Hawks coach in 2015. In accomplishing that feat in 247 games
he’s the second quickest to 200 victories in the modern era among area coaches.
Former Notre Dame of Green Pond coach and current Service Electric TV color commentator Traci Cyr began her career in the 1990s with a 200-46 record. It was mistakenly reported that she did it in 247 games in the most recent girls basketball notebook.
“I’m going to enjoy this one,”
Medina said. “Just super happy with this team. They’ve been a resilient group.”
Bethlehem Catholic also beat the Trojans twice in the regular season 35-34 on Jan. 17 and 50-48 on Jan. 27.
The Hawks (14-9) will now prepare to win its seventh straight District 11 title with the first three coming in Class 4A and the last three in Class 5A.
In an entertaining and fastpaced first half Parkland took a 15-10 lead after a quarter thanks in part to 3-pointers from Zurinskas,
Alexis Brader and Lauren Ervin, who made hers with two seconds left. The Hawks took their first lead of the game, 18-17, after Cici Hernadez drove for a bucket, Erin Bincarosky hit a 3-pointer and another 3 from Kendra Rigo. Bincarosky’s rebound basket was followed by a 3-pointer by Parkland’a Aneri McGalla to tie the score at 20-20.
Akasha Santos, a 5-foot-11 junior forward, scored from inside, Bincarosky made a layup and Mirynet Colon’s two free throws gave Bethlehem Catholic
a six-point lead going into the half. Santos, who also scored five points, severely injured her ankle with 4.8 left in the half and did not return until late in the game.
Two free throws from Maddie Siggins, a foul line junior by Zurinskas and a rebound basket by Siggins got Parkland within 28-28 as the Trojans converted on its first three possessions in the third quarter.
A pair of 3-pointers by Bincarosky, however, helped the Hawks take a 34-31 lead after three quarters.