The Lady Devils had reason to be. The defending District 6 Class 3A champions led after both the first quarter and at halftime, but the walls started to close in, as they often do at BG, once the fourth quarter began.

The Lady Marauders used full-court pressure to force eight fourth-quarter turnovers and held Central Cambria to just one field goal in a 65-54 win.

“They are phenomenal, and they can all pressure the ball,” Kaack said. “They all can get into that early help. I was watching down the stretch today, and (senior) Stella (Yeskey) had two balls just with her length that she jumped up and caught, and she was guarding a guard. I was proud of her, and I thought she did a great job defensively. That’s what we’re known for, and we’ll always start on the defensive end.”

The victory means Bishop Guilfoyle will take on Bishop Carroll Catholic, which defeated Hollidaysburg in the other semifinal game, on Saturday at Saint Francis University’s DeGol Arena at 6 p.m.

Photo for the Mirror by Chuck Meyers Camryn Matlin ties up Anberlyn Petrecca as she goes up for a shot in the paint.

“I think we saw them three times last year,” Kaack said. “I think both teams are familiar with each other, but I think there’s been a lot of growth with both teams. I’m just anxious for the opportunity, and I always think more basketball is a good thing. We’ll prep some tomorrow, and we’re excited for Saturday night.”

The teams are also the two top seeds in the District 6 Class 1A playoffs and both are 21-2.

“It’s exciting to see them and play them so we can see what they do,” BG senior Gia Adams said. “They are doing really well this year, so I’m excited to see the competition.”

Central Cambria had an early 13-6 lead until Adams came off the bench and drilled a 3-pointer almost immediately. It started a 9-2 run that tied the game.

The game went back and forth from there until Central Cambria senior Alaina Long made a 3-pointer from just inside halfcourt to put the Lady Devils up 32-31 at the break.

“I’m really proud of the effort my girls gave,” Central Cambria coach Brittany Bracken said. “It would have been really great to win. I’m feeling a little disappointed right now, but Bishop Guilfoyle is a great team and a great program. To play on their court and play the way we did, there were definitely more positives than negatives. I am looking forward to us building on it in postseason play.”

Bishop Guilfoyle went ahead by as many as nine in the third quarter, but Central Cambria ended it on a 7-2 run that made it 54-51 BG going into the final quarter.

That’s when Bishop Guilfoyle’s defense took over.

“A lot of times in practice, we talk about help defense,” Adams said. “With the girls, coach talks about us all being on a string. When one person moves, everyone moves. We each cover each other and never leave each other hanging. It becomes a chemistry thing. We play well defensively because of the chemistry and trust we have.”

Mary Haigh opened the quarter with a 3-pointer, and then Morgan Ruggery scored six straight points — most of which came in transition after turnovers.

“We love the pressure,” Adams said. “It’s satisfying to make teams make their own mistakes. I think we did that really well tonight. I think having (Anberlyn Petrecca) at the top, with her length, really intimidates people. I think once (Kaack) says we’re going 22, we know we have a job to do.”

Kaack credited the defensive pressure for the improved second-half offense.

“I think tonight our offense carried into our defense,” Kaack said. “That’s not normal for us. It’s usually our defense carries into our offense. I felt like we were flat on the offensive end so we were flat on the defensive end. We came out in the second half and pressured them and got out in transition some that helped us on the offensive end.”

Ruggery and Haigh both scored 15 points. Yeskey added 12 points, and Layona Williams scored all 10 of her points in the second half.

Long led Central Cambria with 17 points, and Katie George added 17 points and eight rebounds.

“Last year, we got a taste of success and what hard work and playing as a team can do,” Bracken said. “I think that carried on this year. They lean on each other. We have some experienced players. We have some new players, and I think that the leadership on our team and how hard we practice all contributes to them believing in each other and feeling confident going into each and every game.”

Central Cambria will be the No. 1 seed in the District 6 Class 3A playoffs a year after being an underdog throughout the postseason and shocking River Valley in the final.

“We are going to prep, prep, prep,” Bracken said. “We do a lot of prep and watch a lot of film. I have to credit our scout team in practice that imitates what our opponents are going to do. We’re coming in with the same mindset. We did it last year, and we believe we can do it again. When you believe you can do something, you work really hard to achieve it, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

CENTRAL CAMBRIA (54): Long 4 6-6 17, George 5 5-5 16, Ruddek 3 0-0 8, Alexander 2 0-0 6, Grimaldi 3 0-0 7, Snyder 0 0-2 0, Hite 0 0-0 0, Matlin 0 0-0 0. Totals — 17 11-13 54.

BISHOP GUILFOYLE (65): Williams 4 2-2 10, Ruggery 5 4-7 15, Petrecca 3 1-1 7, Yeskey 6 0-0 12, Haigh 6 0-0 15, Adams 2 0-0 6, Homan 0 0-0 0. Totals — 26 7-10 65.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central Cambria 17 15 19 3 — 54

Bishop Guilfoyle 15 16 23 11 — 65

3-point goals: Central Cambria 9 (Long 3, Ruddek 2, Alexander 2, Grimaldi, George); Bishop Guilfoyle 6 (Haigh 3, Adams 2, Ruggery).

Records: Central Cambria (17-6); Bishop Guilfoyle (21-2).

Officials: Clark Adelman, Jack McDougal, Randy Burkett.