Bethlehem, PA - February 14, 2025: The Colonial League girls and boys high school basketball championships were held Friday night at Freedom High School. The first game included the top seeded Northwestern Lehigh girls versus 2nd seeded Notre Dame Green Pond. The second game included the 2nd seeded Northwestern Lehigh boys versus 8th seeded Catasauqua.
In the girls matchup, Notre Dame Green Pond defeated Northwestern Lehigh in overtime 58-53 to win their first title since 2020. The Notre Dame win avenged a 20-point regular season loss to the Tigers in January.
Notre Dame Head Coach Josh Kopp, in his 21st season, said after the game that his team had a lot of work to do after the loss in January, both on and off the court. The team developed better chemistry, he said, and that was the difference in taking home the trophy tonight.
Notre Dame played with better confidence as their defense stepped up and their shots fell. Northwestern was able to close the gap late but the Crusaders were able to have an answer to each threat. Northwestern evened the score late while their star player, Cara Thomas (20), sat on the bench after fouling out of the game with about five minutes to go in the 4th period.
In overtime, Notre Dame’s Ava Shonk (1), a junior, took immediate control. She went in for a layup to give the Crusaders the lead and set the tone. Shonk went 2 for 2 from the field and hit 3 key free throws during the extra period. She would not be denied as she totaled 7 points in the overtime period alone, part of her team leading 15 points.
Notre Dame’s free throw shooting in overtime was a huge part of their victory. Senior Emily Lessig (22), 14 points total in the game, junior Brenna Hamerstone (3), 13 points total, and junior Shonk, combined for 7 out of 11 points from the stripe. In regulation, all of Hamerstone’s points came from 3-point territory as she was 4 for 4 from arc. In total, Notre Dame hit eight 3-pointers to Northwestern’s six.
For Northwestern, freshman Natalie Connor (23) led her team with 13 points, she has a bright future ahead. Senior Cara Thomas (20) had 12 points, senior Brook Ballet (2) had 10 points, and junior Emma Freeman (11) tossed in 9 points.
In the boys matchup, Northwestern easily defeated Catasauqua 74-57 to win their first Colonial League title since 2001. The win added to Northwestern’s title runs this school year. Their basketball roster includes numerous athletes from their Colonial League and PIAA 3A championship football team.
Northwestern was in command of this game the entire night. Their speed and athleticism was on full display as they aggressively pushed the ball all night. Catasauqua threatened to close the gap at times but Northwestern played with so much confidence and didn’t seem phased by the threats, even as the game became physical and sloppy at times.
Northwestern Head Coach Pat Wanamaker commented that he wanted his team to come out and get a double-digit lead early, and they did just that in this game. It's a testament to the guys coming out and executing like they did, they put the ball in the basket, he said.
Northwestern had four players in double figures. Gavin Nelson (15) led the Tigers with 24 points. His drives led him to being put on the line 15 times where he converted for 9 points. Eli Zimmerman (4) scored 19 points, Shane Marth (21) scored 13 points, and Mason Bollinger (2), who zipped inbound passes like a quarterback, added 12 points.
Catasauqua, who had a cinderella run in the tournament, was led by Frankie Pujols (1) and Hamaad Jenkins (5) who had 13 points each. Matt Gotta (14) added 10 points. The Cowboys defeated top seeded Notre Dame Green Pond and 4th seeded Bangor on their way to the final.
