NORTHAMPTON - Following their district quarterfinals win over the weekend, Northwestern took a look at the seemingly impossible task that lied ahead.

The only thing standing between the Tigers and a chance at playing for their first district title since 2006 was top-seeded Bethlehem Catholic.Head coach Chris Deutsch and the Tigers knew how tough Becahi the No. 3 ranked team in the state in Class AAA and all-state performer Kalista Walters would be.When Wednesday's matchup between the two teams got underway, it didn't take long to notice just how dominant the Hawks have been all season.Behind 24 points from Walters, Becahi jumped out to an early 19-6 lead after the first quarter and ballooned that to a 20-point advantage at halftime. The Hawks, who never trailed in the game, advanced to the championship game after Wednesday's 59-25 win over the Tigers in the District 11 Class AAA semifinals at Catasauqua High School."They really did a good job defensively and got after us early," Deutsch said. "They have more than one weapon. You do the best you can on Walters, but then they have other girls that hit outside shots."We got off to a slow start. I thought we were tentative. I thought we didn't play the way we are capable, but they make you do that."Becahi faces No. 2 Central Catholic in the district title game in a rematch of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference championship. The Hawks prevailed in that one down the stretch, 45-42.Walters opened the game with two 3-pointers in the first quarter and scored eight points to help the Hawks race out to that 19-6 lead.The Tigers, who committed seven turnovers in that opening period, were troubled by the Hawks' defensive pressure all night. Becahi's stingy defense allowed just eight Northwestern field goals all game, five coming in the first half.The Hawks then used a 16-9 advantage in the second period to lead 35-15 at halftime. Walters had eight more in the second, while Maggie Melhan added 10 in the first two periods of play."One thing I always thought with our team this year is that our girls play hard, they give great effort, and they didn't quit," Deutsch said. "Even tonight when things were just not going right and we couldn't make a shot. A lot of that credit goes to them with their defensive pressure that they put on."Walters and Melhan kept the Hawks' offense rolling in the second half, as Becahi grew its lead to 52-21 after three.Sarah Segan paced the Tigers with eight points in the loss, while Koenig scored six and was responsible for three of Northwestern's eight field goals.Just a couple of months ago, the Tigers weren't sure a playoff run was necessarily in their future with a 0-3 start. Not only did the Tigers advance to their second straight district semifinals, they made it to the Colonial League title game as well."I didn't know if we would make leagues or districts," Deutsch said, "but our girls really came around. I thought we were playing our best basketball at the end of the year. We just ran into a buzzsaw tonight."We talked about being able to pick yourself back up when you get knocked down. We've been spoiled the last couple of years when we've been so good, but we haven't gone through some adversity like we did this year."Segan, Sabrina Mertz and Lauren Anderson, the team's three seniors, took the court for the final time in their high school careers. Deutsch credited that trio for helping turn around the Tigers' program over the last four years."These girls are leaving the program in a better situation than it was when they came in," Deutsch said. "That's a credit to the three seniors. Those girls are going to be very successful in life."NORTHWESTERNMertz 0-3-6-3, Landrigan 1-0-2-2, Segan 2-3-8-8, Koenig 3-0-0-6, Williamson 0-0-0-0, Thomas 0-0-0-0, Lister 1-2-2-4, Anderson 1-0-1-2, Divers 0-0-0-0, Dietrich 0-0-0-0, Pasquale 0-0-0-0, Chisdak 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 8-8-19-25.BETHLEHEM CATHOLICJones 3-0-0-6, Rhine 2-0-0-5, Lacherza 0-2-2-2, Rouch 0-0-0-0, Orloski 0-0-0-0, Recchio 0-0-0-0, Zamolyi 2-0-0-5, Mims 0-0-0-0, Baumann 0-0-0-0, Melhan 7-2-2-17, Walters 11-0-0-24. TOTALS: 25-4-4-59.Northwestern 6 9 6 4 - 25Bethlehem Catholic 19 16 17 7 - 59Three-Pointers: NW - Segan 1; BC - Walters 2, Melhan 1, Zamolyi 1, Rhine 1.