ROSS TWP — Reaching the WPIAL championship game for an eighth straight season, the North Catholic girls basketball program’s streak may be taken for granted by some people.

Trojanettes coach Molly Rottmann is not among them.

“These girls had to overcome a lot to get there this year,” Rottmann said after her team defeated Waynesburg Central, 58-29, Saturday in the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals at North Hills Middle School.

The Trojanettes (18-5) only have two seniors on their roster. The team has lost four players to season-ending injuries. And the mother of Anastasia Peterson — one of the two seniors — died Friday.

“That was such a jolt for all of us,” Rottmann said. “The team decided to play for Anastasia and her mom today. I’m proud of the way they held their emotions in check and played so well. That wasn’t easy.”

Waynesburg (17-5) entered the contest having won 11 of its last 12 games, including a double-overtime win over South Park in the first round of the playoffs. The Raiders allow opponents only 33 points per game — second fewest in WPIAL 3A — but struggled to keep the Trojanettes off the board.

North Catholic jumped out to leads of 7-0 and 12-2. Waynesburg pulled within 12-8 on a Clara Paige Miller layup early in the second quarter, but North closed the half with a 14-2 run from there and was never threatened again.

The Trojanettes enjoyed a 42-24 rebounding advantage. Alayna Rocco had 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals, Anna Waskiewicz 15 points, nine boards and three assists.

“They were bigger than us, so we worked on boxing out all week,” Rocco said. “We knew that would be a big part of this game.”

Waynesburg coach Dave Sarra wasn’t surprised at the way the Trojanettes attacked the glass.

“I’ve seen them on film,” Sarra said. “They’re a very good team. They go hard to the boards and we knew coming in we couldn’t let them get offensive rebounds, second and third shots on possessions.

“Once they started doing that, that was the game.”

Waskiewicz said her team was able to concentrate on the game once it arrived at North Hills.

“We met at the (North Catholic) school before we left. Everybody talked and we got our emotions out,” she said. “This game was in honor of Anastasia and her mother. We played for them. We won it for them.”

Dacia Lewandowski contributed nine points, four assists and four rebounds for the Trojanettes. Tori Drevna had eight points and five rebounds.

North Catholic has won nine of its last 10 games. The Trojanettes have won their first two playoff games by margins of 28 and 29 points.

“I do feel like we’re hitting our stride right now,” Rottmann said. “Waynesburg rebounds really well and they play aggressively underneath. We had to come out and match that aggression. I thought our girls did that.”

Kaley Rohanna led Waynesburg with 12 points and five rebounds.

“North Catholic does everything well,” Sarra said. “They handle the ball and they’ve got shooters. I’m particularly impressed with the way they get back on defense. They adjust on the run extremely well.

“We’ve got a couple of girls involved in summer AAU ball. They have about 10 or so, and they’ve played a tougher schedule than us. That makes a big difference.”

North Catholic will play Freedom — a 32-19 winner over Avonworth in the other 3A semifinal — for the WPIAL crown at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Petersen Events Center. The Trojanettes defeated Freedom twice during the regular season.

WAYNESBURG CENTRAL 29

Colleen Lemley 0-1 0-0 0, Emma Kindervater 1-2 0-2 3, Nina Sarra 0-3 0-0 0, Emily Bennett 2-3 1-2 5, Addison Blair 1-3 0-0 2, Kaley Rohanna 5-11 1-2 12, Brenna Benke 1-8 0-0 2, Clara Paige Miller 2-10 0-0 5. Totals: 12-41 2-6 29.

NORTH CATHOLIC 58

Anastasia Peterson 1-1 0-0 2, Anna Waskiewicz 6-10 3-6 15, Alayna Rocco 9-20 2-2 22, Dacia Lewandowski 4-12 1-4 9, Kaitlyn Tavella 0-0 0-0 0, Tori Drevna 3-10 0-0 8, Carys Mundy 0-1 0-2 0, Leah Larson 0-0 0-0 0, Emma Shoemaker 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 24-55 6-15 58.

Waynesburg Ctl. 6 4 10 9 — 29

North Catholic 12 14 16 16 — 58

3-point goals: Waynesburg Central 3 (Kindervater, Rohanna, Miller), North Catholic 4 (Rocco 2, Drevna 2)

Thursday: WPIAL Class 3A Championship-North Catholic vs. Freedom, 7 p.m., Petersen Events Center