JOHNSTOWN — Bishop McCort Catholic will be heading to the District 6 Class 2A girls’ basketball title game for a second consecutive year, as the defending champion Crimson Crushers took command early over visiting Portage in Monday night’s semifinal and posted a 66-33 victory over the Mustangs.

Sixth-seeded Portage (13-11) hit the first bucket of the night, but the second-seeded Crimson Crushers (16-8) proceeded to outscore the Mustangs 22-3 over the remainder of the opening period, en route to building a 20-point halftime lead that ended up proving to be an insurmountable advantage.

“We talked all week in practice about getting off to a good start,” said Bishop McCort coach John Hahn, whose squad will face Penns Manor in a rematch of last season’s championship game Thursday at Mount Aloysius College. “The girls did everything I asked them to do.”

Crimson Crusher junior forward Zoey Ferguson led all scorers with 22 points, and senior teammates Emma Preuss (20) and Ava Zucco (15) also paced the Bishop McCort offensive production.

“When we put three or four girls in double figures, we’re hard to beat,” Hahn said. “We have girls that can finish at the basket, and that’s an advantage.”

Defensively, Bishop McCort’s focus was on Portage junior sharpshooter Kendall Bednarski.

“Bednarski was the one we were afraid of,” Hahn said. “We denied her the ball, and Reese Bair did a great job on her all night long.”

Bednarski came in averaging nearly 17 points per game to lead Portage, but was shut out in the first half and held to just two field goals and seven points in the contest.

The Crimson Crushers ended the opening frame by reeling off 14 unanswered points, keyed by three straight buckets from Ferguson.

“All I was thinking about was winning this game to get back to D6 for another championship like we won last year,” said Ferguson. “The thought of that made me keep pushing myself.”

Portage coach Lance Hudak lamented his team’s early offensive struggles.

“We had to make shots early,” Hudak said. “We weren’t hitting the opportunities we got, and they were making theirs. You’re down 5 or 6 and then you look up and its 15 or 18 all of a sudden, that makes it difficult.”

Portage senior guard Britton Myher scored consecutive baskets during a 7-0 Mustang run in the second quarter that cut the deficit to 24-12, but the Crimson Crushers answered by tallying 11 of the final 14 points of the half.

The Mustangs got no closer than 42-26 the rest of the way when Bednarski’s layup capped off a surge of seven straight Portage points midway through the third period.

Despite the loss, Portage will have an opportunity to extend its season in Thursday’s district consolation game at fellow Heritage Conference competitor United (34-32 semifinal losers to Penns Manor) and earn a berth in the PIAA play-in against the District 3 third-place team with a victory over the Lions.

“We’re not going to Mount Aloysius like we hoped, but we’re going to United, a team we know very well,” Hudak said. “We are in a position to make the state tournament, so we will turn the page and start prepping for Thursday.”

PortagE (33): C. Burkett 1 0-0 2, Myher 3 0-0 6, Bagby 1 0-0 3, Bednarski 2 2-2 7, B. Burkett 2 1-2 5, Irvin 3 0-0 8, Burda 1 0-0 2, Stancovich 0 0-0 0, Krestar 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0, A. Burkett 0 0-0 0. Harsh 0 0-0 0. Totals — 13 3-4 33.

Bishop McCort (66): Preuss 7 4-5 20, Zucco 6 2-2 15, Bair 1 5-6 8, Bailey 0 1-2 1, Ferguson 11 0-3 22, Wachs 0 0-0 0, Urban 0 0-0 0, Stokes 0 0-0 0, Moore 0 0-0 0. Totals — 25 12-18 66.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Portage 5 10 13 5 — 33

Bishop McCort 22 13 17 14 — 66

Three-point field goals: Portage 4 (Irvin 2, Bednarski, Bagby). Bishop McCort 4 (Preuss 2, Zucco, Bair)

Records: Portage (13-11), Bishop McCort (16-8)

Officials: Wayne Warfel, Mark Surike, Taylor Gruss