The Pen Argyl Green Knights brought their 3-1 record to Catasauqua High School for a varsity girls basketball game between Colonial League foes.

The Roughs entered the game at 1-4 looking to halt a three-game skid. Unfortunately for the home crowd, Pen Argyl won, 50-35.

Catty got off to a strong start in the first quarter and led at the break 17-15. Senior guard Julia Lacey scored 6 of her game total 9 points in the period as the Roughs showed good offensive balance in building the lead.

Sophomore point guard Alexis Rushatz scored the first basket of the second quarter to extend the Roughs lead to four. However, Catty wouldn’t score again in the period and Pen Argyl’s 6 points were enough to stake the Knights to a two-point lead at the half.

Rushatz and Lacey each knocked down a three early in the second half to reestablish Catty’s lead at four. Once again, the Knights went on a run, outscoring the Roughs 12-0 before the horn sounded and took a 33-25 lead into the final quarter.

Rushatz cut the lead to 5 with a shot from beyond the arc, but the following 10-point Knight run put the game out of reach.

Head coach Mark Seremula felt that the Roughs got worn down by the superior size of their opponents.

“They’re huge, but in the first half we didn’t give up many (second chance points),” he said. “In the second half we gave up a few more. We’ve struggled with boxing out this year.”

Rushatz led Catty with 20, going 6 of 13 from 3-point distance. The rest of the Roughs were 2 of 12 from deep. The team also struggled at the charity stripe, converting only 3 of 9.

Seremula was disappointed in the overreliance on the three-point shot. “Sometimes you settle for some long shots and you forget how wide open the girls were in the post in the first quarter just because you made a jumpshot or two,” he said. “When you’re not making baskets, you’ve gotta make free throws.”

Catasauqua travels to Colonial League power Southern Lehigh for their next game, on Friday. That will be the last game of 2018 for the Roughs.