Bethlehem Catholic’s Cici Hernandez knew there would be a gap to fill when teammate Kourtney Wilson was sidelined with an injury for the District XI Class 5A semifinal on Saturday, so the freshman guard stepped up and got hot offensively and defensively, launching the Golden Hawks to a 52-38 victory over Blue Mountain at Becahi.

“I was trying to fill in the leader role for Kourtney, and I knew we needed somebody to step up and contribute, especially on the defensive side. We had to keep them out of the paint,” Hernandez said. “To be honest, I’ve struggled with rebounding and I’ve been working on it, so it’s become a part of my game and I’m going for the ball no matter who it is. I mean, 5’5 gets you somewhere.”

That 5’5 also got Hernandez four threes in the first half, including one at the halftime buzzer.

“We have so many dynamic players, all it takes is for one to get hot, and when one of our girls gets hot, we talk about let’s find her and continue to ride that wave, but let’s continue to work hard on playing defense, and we were committed to that today,” said Becahi coach Jose Medina.

Hernandez marched on, hitting another three to start the second half, then forcing a Blue Mountain turnover when guard Lindsay Kutz dribbled right into Hernandez’s arms. After three missed shots by Becahi, the Hawks called a timeout.

Akasha Santos inbounded the ball to Cydney Stanton who scored and converted on a free throw.

After Kutz scored three consecutive times, Becahi’s full court pressure was on, and Becahi guard Kiki Walters had a steal and a layup on the play, taking a 41-32 lead by the end of the third quarter.

“I just remember our coaches yelling for me to get a steal right now, so I got the steal and decided to score,” Walters said. “We’re a very deep team, so we’re able to go with it.”

With 4:52 remaining in the game, the Hawks took some time off the clock, and again with 3:52 left.

“We knew we were up and wanted to slow the game down. They definitely were scrappy so we needed to want the ball even more after every shot,” said Stanton. “Everyone wants to go to the district championship so that plays a big part in how you get down on the court. It was a big game.”

Time was on Becahi’s side, especially when guard Gabby Maldonado hit a three with 3:12 left in the game.

“I’m so proud of all our girls and the resolve they showed,” said Coach Medina. “We talked about let’s tighten up defensively, and let’s let the basketball move on the offensive end. The girls did a great job of running their stuff and getting their shot. I’m just very proud of them when the stuff you practice you see out there.”