KITTANNING — Penn Cambria knew from the outset it faced a stiff challenge in its PIAA Class 4A quarterfinal-round game against Oakland Catholic on Saturday at Armstrong Junior-Senior High School. Josie Fontana, the 6-foot-3 senior, personified most of that challenge.

“They’re a great team. You don’t come across 6-foot-3 girls who can do what Josie does. The whole game plan has to revolve around her,” Lady Panthers coach Josh Himmer said after Penn Cambria suffered a 49-38 loss to the WPIAL champion Lady Eagles. “And the rest of her teammates compliment what she does. They move extremely well. And they had some fast-break layups that broke it open in the first half. And we weren’t able to recover.”

Fontana led all scorers with 13 points. She contributed five rebounds and four blocked shots before she fouled out with 2:35 to go. Oakland Catholic had the game well in hand, 45-30, by that time.

Oakland Catholic coach Henry Schechter fielded the question of how he would deal with Fontana if he were coaching against the Lady Eagles.

“I’m hoping I have a kid who has about four more inches on her. It’s a tough matchup,” he said.

The Lady Panthers did all they could from preventing Fontana from having a field day at their expense. If Fontana was not causing the damage, however, Zephaniah Troxler-Scott and Madison Pullen were. Each added 12 points apiece. Troxler-Scott hit two wide-open 3-point field goals and added eight rebounds.

“You have to pick your poison somewhere. And no matter what you do, if they’re going to move the basketball the way they did, they’ll get an open shot. And they are good enough to make them. You have to live with them,” Himmer said.

Penn Cambria never drew closer than one point, 4-3, when MaKenna McCoy hit the first of the Lady Panthers’ six 3-point field goals early in the first period. Oakland Catholic finished the first period on an 11-4 run and assumed a 24-13 lead at the break.

“(Troxler-Scott) does an outstanding job on top of their press and playing man defense, taking away the point guard,” Himmer said. “And Josie, no matter where she is on the floor, (she’s) tough to defend.”

Pullen’s basket at the 3:34 mark of the final quarter gave the Lady Eagles their biggest lead, 45-28.

“I asked the girls to rate how they played. I think in the first half it was maybe a ‘7½ ‘ or ‘8.’ And I think it declined in the second,” Schechter said. “There were some mental mistakes more than physical that we need to clean up on.”

Himmer said the Lady Panthers can look forward to a bright future as they defend the District 6 championship next year.

“Coming into the season we knew had some high expectations. We lived up to those expectations,” he said.

Saturday marked the last appearance for senior starters McCoy and Reagan Ronan and reserve Kaydynce Baney. The three left the court together for one last time with 33.9 seconds remaining to a warm ovation from the Penn Cambria supporters.

“It starts with our three seniors. They’re the leaders of our team. And they’re the ones that deserve all the credit for that,” Himmer said.

Ronan and sophomore Sophia Beard shared team-high scoring honors with eight points apiece. Beard and McCoy led the Lady Panthers with five rebounds apiece. Beard produced five steals.

Schechter, the WPIAL’s reputation for its rugged quality of girls’ basketball aside, was not inclined to take the scrappy Lady Panthers lightly.

“They’re a tough team. We saw them on film. They play so hard. I think we had a height advantage. But those kids go hard every game we’ve seen. They all crash the boards, they look for rebounds, they don’t give up, they play all four quarters. That’s a really nice team,” Schechter said.

Penn Cambria started three sophomores, Beard, Avayah LeMaster, and Rachel Fisher. The varsity roster also featured a large number of juniors and additional sophomores.

“We’re still pretty young. So we’ve set the bar where it needs to be for Penn Cambria basketball. And, again, it starts with those seniors setting that bar. And they will leave their legacy on Penn Cambria being probably the best girls’ basketball team in Penn Cambria history. We’re going to build on it,” Himmer said.

Oakland Catholic will shoot for its 18th consecutive victory when it faces WPIAL runner-up Blackhawk, a 58-49 winner against North Catholic, in the semifinals on Tuesday at Hampton High School.

OAKLAND CATHOLIC (49): Troxler-Scott 4 2-2 12, Daye 2 0-0 4, Pullen 5 2-2 12, Lamendola 1 2-6 4, Fontana 5 2-2 12, Rozier 1 1-2 4. Totals 18 9-14 49.

PENN CAMBRIA (38):Ronan 3 0-0 8, Beard 3 1-2 8, Avayah LeMaster 1 2-2 4, McCoy 2 0-2 6, Fisher 2 1-2 6, Rabatin 1 0-0 2, Anderson 1 2-2 4, Avery LeMaster 0 0-0 0. Totals – 13 6-10 38.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Oakland Catholic 15 9 10 15 – 49

Penn Cambria 7 6 9 16 – 38

3-point field goals: Oakland Catholic 4 (Troxler-Scott 2, Fontana, Rozier), Penn Cambria 6 (McCoy 2, Ronan 2, Anderson, Fisher).

Team records: Oakland Catholic (24-2), Penn Cambria (21-6)

Officials: Tom Minick, Bryan Harlan, Matt Johnson