ALLENTOWN – A defensive slugfest at PPL Center as Easton took on Bethlehem Catholic in the EPC girls championship game.
Not surprising in a matchup featuring two Northampton Division opponents who know each extremely well and split a pair of regular season contests.
The Golden Hawks led 10-8 after one quarter but the Red Rovers fought back behind seven second quarter points from Nat Amato to grab a 20-18 lead at intermission.
In the third quarter, Bethlehem Catholic’s Leah Ault feeds Kam Gallis on the wing and she buries the three-pointer and the Hawks go back in front 30-28 heading into the fourth quarter.
Each team had only one field goal in the final eight minutes and Beca ties the score at 30-30 on an Aliyah Brame layup with nine second left. Laura Lewis fouls Eva Jordan with three seconds remaining and she sinks the second free throw to give coach Dave Lutz’s squad a 35-34 victory
“I’m really proud of my team,” said Jordan. “We played really hard all four quarters. We kept our poise and it feels good. It’s definitely a good feeling, we worked really hard all year. I’m really proud of our team, I feel like we deserve this.”
Melina Cole, who scored in double figures in each of Easton’s wins at PPL Center, was named tournament MVP.