TROY — The Bethlehem girls’ basketball team starts only one senior and while the Eagles may be a young team, lately they’re playing like a group of skilled veterans.
“I’m so proud of us,” Bethlehem sophomore Elizabeth Kearney said. “We’ve been through so much this whole season. This was one of our main goals, to get here and win.”
Bethlehem will face No. 2 Troy at 7:45 p.m. Monday at HVCC and hopes to capture its first sectional title since 2015.
“(Troy) is going to press and they are scrappy and fast,” Bethlehem coach Trish Piccini said. “You have to be ready for that. At this point, we’ve been through a lot together and they’ve responded, so we’re going to do the best we can against them and compete.”
On Saturday, Bethlehem trailed 18-13 early in the second quarter, but grabbed a 19-18 lead with 4:45 remaining in the first half when junior Ella McCarthy converted a putback to provide the Eagles their first lead since 1:05 into the contest.
Columbia faced a 26-24 deficit in the closing seconds of the first half but leveled the game as Sarah Rainville grabbed a defensive board and found a driving Madison Ficara for a layup.
Bethlehem came out of halftime firing on all cylinders and led by as many as 19 points in the third quarter.
“We took great shots,” Kearney said. “We did a good job of putting the ball in the middle and just taking the good open shots and taking our time.”