The No. 3 seeded Roncalli girls basketball team fell in the WIAA Girls State Basketball Division 3 regional final against host No. 2 Wrightstown on Saturday 51-50.
The first quarter belonged to the Tigers as the Jets offense was being stopped inside and weren’t hitting from outside.
When the quarter came to a close, Roncalli trailed 16-5.
Hannah Severin got the Jets on the board in the second quarter, breaking a scoring drought of several minutes stretching back to the first quarter.
Catherine Taddy got going for Roncalli, scoring five straight to get the Jets within 21-12 midway through the frame. A few possessions later, Sophie Pitz drained a 3-pointer to get Roncalli within six at 23-17. Taddy led the Jets with a team-high 15 points while Pitz added 13.
Alex Cliff added a 3 of her own for the Jets seconds later, but it was matched on the other end by Wrightstown as the teams headed into the break with the Tigers up 26-20.
Roncalli outscored Wrightstown 15-10 in the second quarter to get back in the game.
The Jets came out firing in the second half, using a 6-2 run to begin the third quarter to get within 28-26. Just when Roncalli got the deficit to one point, the Tigers responded with a 7-0 run to take a 37-29 advantage.
The third quarter ended with the Jets getting back within striking distance at 37-34.
Pitz picked up her fourth foul early in the final frame with Roncalli down 40-36. Taddy hit a pair of free throws to trim the deficit to 40-38.
Back-to-back 3’s by Taddy and Hannah Severin gave the Jets their first lead since early in the first quarter at 44-42. Roncalli continued to play tough, leading 46-45 with 90 seconds to go when Pitz fouled out.
Taddy made a pair of free throws to make it a three-point game at 49-46 with 23.7 second remaining. Wrightstown regained possession with 11.9 second left after the Tigers converted an old-fashioned 3-pointer.
| Roncalli | 5 | 15 | 14 | 16 | — | 50 |
| Wrightstown | 16 | 10 | 11 | 14 | — | 51 |
Roncalli
Alex Cliff 9, Rachel Moczynski 7, Sophie Pitz 13, Hannah Severin 6, Catherine Taddy 15. Totals 16 12-16 50.
Wrightstown
Kayla Chosa 16, Megan Hansen 5, Courtney Klister 7, Lindsay Neinas 6, Wrenn Tanck 17. Totals 12 18-24 51.
3-Point Goals – Roncalli 6 (Alex Cliff 1, Sophie Pitz 3, Hannah Severin 1, Catherine Taddy 1), Wrightstown 3 (Courtney Klister 1, Lindsay Neinas 2), Total Fouls – Roncalli 18, Wrightstown 18.
