NORTHAMPTON — After losing a number of senior players to graduation and then losing junior Taliyah Medina to a knee injury at the start of the season, Bethlehem Catholic was thought to be rebuilding.

Instead, the Golden Hawks are one win away from a third straight District 11 championship after beating Northwestern 53-28 Wednesday night at Catasauqua High School.

Things started well for the Tigers when Sydney Sevrain nailed a long three-pointer just 13 seconds into the game to give Northwestern a quick lead. One minute later, Kourtney Wilson dropped in what would be the first of her four three-pointers on the night to tie the game. The lead would change hands four more times throughout the rest of the first quarter until Becahi moved out to a 12-8 lead at the end of the period.

The second quarter wasn’t nearly as friendly to Northwestern. Bethlehem Catholic opened the frame on an 8-0 run before Emily Sekerak hit a foul shot with 1:01 left in the first half to break the string.

That would be the Tigers’ only point of the second quarter. The Golden Hawks got a layup from Isabelle Rosario and as time was running out, Abby Brown was fouled as she drove toward the basket and hit two foul shots to give Beca a 25-9 halftime lead.

“I thought we played really well in the first quarter, but then to get shut down like that in the second quarter really hurt us,” said Northwestern coach Chris Deutsch. “And we still might have been OK if we hadn‘t given up those late points going into halftime.”

Meanwhile, the Hawks were having one of those nights where every shot they put up seemed to find its mark. With a deep bench, head coach Jose Medina was able to effectively roll players off the bench and find ways to keep scoring, while keeping his starters fresh.

Northwestern didn’t give up, and looked to cut into the deficit in the second half. Alex Lister hit a shot with 40 seconds left in the third quarter to cut the margin to 13, but the Hawks’ Jaleesa Lanier hit a three-pointer moments later to keep pressure on the Tigers.

Sekerak, who scored five of her eight points in the third, hit a shot with just 12 seconds left to make it 36-22 in favor of Beca after three quarters.

A 7-0 run by Bethlehem Catholic early in the fourth put the game away.

Beca’s Wilson led all scorers with 19 points. Other than Wilson’s double-digit game, the Hawks had a balanced scoring attack with 10 different players chipping in with points.

“We finished with 15 shots in the paint tonight,” Deutsch said. “They’re one of the better teams we’ve seen all year, and they make you uncomfortable offensively. I’m disappointed, but not discouraged. This one stings a little bit, but I know the girls will come back tomorrow and have a good practice and we’ll be ready to go Saturday.

“If you take this team, which is so young, and qualify for states, that’s the cherry on top. The girls are gaining some important experience by playing through all of this.”

A SECOND CHANCE ... Northwestern missed a chance to clinch a spot in the PIAA playoffs, but the Tigers get another opportunity Saturday in the Class 4A consolation game when they face Tamaqua at Lehighton at 1 p.m.

SOPHOMORE BOARDS ... Northwestern’s Emily Sekerak battled on the boards all night, often with two or three Beca players fighting her for rebounds. Sekerak pulled down 10 boards, most on the night.

NORTHWESTERN

Bleam 0-0-0-0, Betz 0-0-0-0, Motolese 0-0-0-0, Lister 1-1-4-3, Jones 0-0-0-0, Ledeboer 1-0-0-2, Sevrain 2-0-1-6, Hess 2-2-2-6, Sekerak 3-2-4-8, Christopher 1-1-2-3, Dorney 0-0-0-0, Funk 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 10-6-13-28.

BETHLEHEM CATHOLIC

Rosario 3-0-0-8, Lanier 1-1-3-3, Walters 1-3-6-5, Barnard 0-0-0-0, Rodriguez 2-0-0-4, McNally 0-0-0-0, Wilson 6-3-4-19, Stanton 1-0-0-2, Donato 1-0-0-2, Scott-Almonte 0-0-0-0, Brown 2-2-3-6, Perez 0-0-0-0, Peterson 1-0-2-2, Zambo 1-0-0-2, TOTALS: 19-9-18-53.

Northwestern 8 1 13 6 - 28

Bethlehem Cath. 12 15 9 17 - 53

Three-pointers: NW - Sevrain 2; Bethlehem Catholic - Wilson 4, Rosario 2.