JEFFERSON TWP — For the better part of a quarter, the Knoch girls basketball team was frustrating North Catholic.

The Trojanettes were shooting poorly, turning the ball over and struggling to score points.

It was the kind of game the Knights wanted.

But then, as quick as a Tess Myers cross over and as rapid as a Kylee Lewandowski release on a 3-pointer, North Catholic went on a run.

A two-point game was suddenly 14.

And North Catholic was on its way to a 68-35 road section win over Knoch Monday night.

“It's the same thing you've seen in other games with them,” said Knoch coach Chris Andreassi. “There's that one spurt.”

That spurt was a 15-3 run that gave North Catholic a 14-point lead.

That advantage swelled to 19 by the half and climbed to 28 by the end of the third quarter.

“It's very tough playing from behind against them,” Andreassi said. “You try to speed things up and then you're playing into their hands.”

North Catholic (10-1, 6-0) stifled Knoch (8-5, 5-2) for most of the game on defense, limiting second shots and forcing the Knights to shoot just 30 percent from the floor.

It helped offset a bit of a sluggish start for the Trojanettes.

“Knoch is a really good team, but we were a little off (early),” said North Catholic coach Molly Rottmann.

Getting off to quicker starts is something the Trojanettes have been working on lately.

North Catholic has the ability to step on the gas pedal, but Myers said they can't expect that every game.

“At the same time, we need to always have our foot on the gas,” Myers said.

Myers stomped down on the accelerator herself after missing her first three shots.

She finished with 24, including four 3-pointers.

Myers was able to create her own offense at times.

“She creates things for herself. That's the separator, right? She has the ability to do that,” Rottmann said. “She put us on her back a little bit.”

Lewandowski scored seven, but was also a standout on defense, forcing errant passes and getting a handful of steals.

Belle O'Hara came off the bench to score eight for the Trojanettes.

Lauren Cihonski scored 12 points and Nevaeh Ewing added 11 for Knoch.

Despite the loss, Andreassi was pleased with his team's effort.

“We did some good things, absolutely,” Andreassi said. “Our shooting percentage needs to be higher. When you play them, you have to keep them from second shots and we had some slip-ups defensively. Overall, I thought we played pretty well defensively.”

NORTH CATHOLIC 68

Emma Pospisil 1-5 0-0 3, Cassie Foster 1-3 1-2 4, Kyle Lewandowski 3-7 0-0 7, Tess Myers 10-20 0-0 24, Sarah Berardelli 3-3 0-0 6, Bella O'Hara 3-4 2-3 8, Lucy Waskiewicz 1-2 0-0 3, Branygan Bianchin 3-6 0-0 6, Dacia Lewandowski 2-7 0-0 5, Carlie Kreutzer 0-0 0-0 0, Lexie Raabe 1-1 0-0 2, Anna Waskiewicz 0-1 0-0 0, Tori Drevna 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-59 3-5 68.

KNOCH 35

Abbey Shearer 1-4 0-2 2, Nevaeh Ewing 4-12 0-0 11, Nina Shaw 1-7 2-6 4, Madilyn Boyer 1-4 2-4 4, Lauren Cihonski 6-11 0-0 12, Jaylee Lassinger 0-3 0-0 0, Megan Vasas 1-3 0-0 2, Samantha Archer 0-0 0-0 0, Hattie McGraw 0-1 0-1 0, Amanda Huckenstein 0-0 0-0 0, Julia Burgard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-46 4-13 35.

North Catholic 15 21 22 10 — 68

Knoch8 9 13 5 — 35

3-point goals: North Catholic 7 (Myers 4, Pospisil, Fisher, K. Lewandowski, D. Lewandowski); Knoch 3 (Ewing 3)

Thursday: North Catholic at Indiana; Knoch at Highlands