The game was a lot closer than the final score would indicate.

Eisenhower took the two-and-a-half-hour trip to Sharon High School, while Kennedy Catholic had a 10-minute drive, but the Knights were ready to go at tip-off.

Eisenhower jumped out to a 5-2 lead and played tenacious defense.

“They struggled with our press and we got a 10-second violation right off the bat against them,” Eisenhower head coach D.J. Steinberg said. “We created turnovers and got steals as a result. We wanted to make it difficult for them and we did from the start.”

Times Observer photo by Steve Younger Eisenhower teammates celebrate after Morgan Zaffino made a late 3-pointer during Wednesday’s game at Sharon High School.

The Knights trailed just 13-10 at the end of the first quarter.

Eisenhower’s Clara Steinberg had a pair of 3-pointers to keep the score close, but the Knights had no answer for two-time region Player of the Year Layke Fields, who had 19 of her team’s 29 first-half points, mainly on shots under the bucket. Eisenhower went into halftime down 29-21.

Kennedy Catholic came out of the locker room and started to make some shots, but the Knights found themselves down just 31-26 with 4:40 remaining in the third quarter before Kennedy Catholic would go on a 17-2 run.

Both teams would work their entire roster into the game in the fourth quarter. The highlight of the game for Eisenhower came when Morgan Zaffino drained a 3-pointer in the final seconds. Players and coaches from both teams celebrated with Zaffino.

While the Knights dropped the game, they played with heart and never backed down.

Times Observer photo by Steve Younger Eisenhower’s Samantha Childs blocked a Kennedy Catholic shot attempt during Wednesday’s District 10 Class 2A semifinal at Sharon High School.

“We shut down their outside shooters for most of the game,” Coach Steinberg said. “We just had a tough time with Layke, who is a tremendous player.”

Clara Steinberg led Eisenhower with 17 points, while Layke Fields took game honors with 31 points for Kennedy Catholic.

Eisenhower, which had already secured its spot in the PIAA state playoffs, will play No. 2 Wilmington in Saturday’s consolation game. No. 3 Lakeview beat Wilmington 58-46 in Wednesday’s second semifinal.

EISENHOWER (42)

Font 3 0 7, Childs 1 0 2, Belcher 2 4 9, Alcorn 0 0 0, Zaffino 1 0 3, Gates 2 0 4, Steinberg 7 0 17, Waite 0 0 0. Totals 16 4 42.

KENNEDY CATHOLIC (57)

Pfleger 0 0 0, Magestro 4 1 9, Fields 12 7 31, Shimrack 2 0 4, Gargasz 1 0 2, Scullin 0 0 0, Perry 0 0 0, Cameron 0 0 0, Harvey 4 1 11, Connor 0 0 0. Totals 23 9 57.

3-point goals–Font, Belcher, Zaffino, Steinberg 3, Harvey 2.

Eisenhower 10 11 7 14 — 42

Kennedy Catholic 13 16 19 9 — 57