Editor’s note: The Becahi girls semifinal game took place after Press deadlines.

Bethlehem Catholic’s girls’ basketball team cruised again this past Saturday when they defeated Danville, 60-37, in the PIAA State Class 4A quarterfinal at Hazleton High School.

Becahi guard Jaleesa Lanier came out in the second quarter firing two consecutive threes, and the Hawks were off and running.

“They were taller than us, we knew that, so we wanted to play fast and fierce so we needed to stretch out on them and create deflections because our defense is our best offense,” said Lanier. “We wanted to use our speed and we’re good at getting steals, so we wanted to use that to our advantage, but we didn’t want to take a lot of chances because four on five would be tricky to defend.”

Danville’s Corinna Petrus was the Lady Ironmen’s biggest offensive threat, scoring 12 points.

The Hawks had a comfortable 30-19 lead at halftime, but the Hawks played uncomfortable in the second half.

“That’s always a concern and after the first half, the other team has to figure out how to adjust to our thing and beat us, especially if we’re beating them, but I think our thing is to just push back harder,” said Becahi forward Briana Barnard.

The Hawks went on a 10-0 run in the third quarter, led by Barnard who tallied 20 points, but the Lady Ironmen went on an 8-0 run soon after.

“They played hard, a very aggressive team. I had to work really hard down low. I got bruises everywhere,” Barnard said.

Becahi was able to hold Danville to six points in the fourth quarter.

“I knew we were going to get far because we all want it so bad,” said Lanier. “Our practices are very intense, actually, because one mistake could be a game changer, one possession could be our last, so we like to fix the little things at practice to prepare for the game.”

Becahi will have played its state semifinal game on Tuesday night past Press deadlines. If the Hawks make it to the state final, that game is scheduled for Saturday at 12 p.m. in Hershey.