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In what may have been its best performance of the season, the Elizabeth Seton High School girls' basketball team thumped Paul VI Catholic High (Va.), 61-34 Sunday afternoon in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference semifinals.

But the Roadrunners will not be facing county rival Bishop McNamara in Monday's WCAC championship game. St. John's (D.C.) thwarted any hopes for an all-county league final by pulling away from the Mustangs in the fourth quarter for a 71-65 victory. McNamara (18-9) dropped two of its last three regular season games, including an 82-69 loss to St. John's on Feb. 19. Seton will meet St. John's at 5:30 p.m. Monday at American University's Bender Arena.

Soon after their lopsided victory over Paul VI (23-9), Seton seniors Tyaunna Marshall, Alexis Martin and Julia Weatherly recalled their freshman season together, when reaching the WCAC championship game seemed like an impossible task. Three years after they finished 10th in the league as freshmen, the Roadrunners' trio is one win away from making the impossible a reality.

"It's been a really good four years," said Weatherly, who is headed to Monmouth University this fall. "We came in together as freshmen and we were just hoping to get the program going in the right direction again. Now we're playing for a championship. St. John's has a great team and they have really good guards and it should be a great matchup."

Like Marshall, Martin and Weatherly, Seton coach Jazz Perazic came into the program four years ago. The Roadrunners are one win away from taking home their first WCAC title in a decade and Perazic was quick to point out how few and far between such opportunities can occur.

"I tried to explain to the kids at practice this week that you only get so many chances to play for a championship at any level," Perazic said. "No matter how good you might be or how long you play the game, you have to take advantage of these limited opportunities. All season long our guard play has been our Achilles' heel, but [Sunday] our guards were solid. We always have trouble with teams that trap, but St. John's plays the same style that we do so that should not be an issue. It should be a great game and I know our girls are looking forward to it."

Seton (21-6) won both regular season meetings against St. John's, defeating the Cadets 62-56 at home on Jan. 24 and then winning at St. John's, 73-61, on Feb. 2. The Roadrunners stumbled slightly down the stretch, losing at Paul VI, 60-56 on Feb. 16 and at McNamara, 59-54, one night later, but they will take a four-game winning streak into the final. St. John's (23-5) has won seven consecutive games since losing to Seton last month.

Sunday afternoon against Paul VI, Seton gained the upper hand early and the Roadrunners never took their foot off the gas pedal. After owning a modest 11-4 lead at the end of the first quarter, Seton virtually put the game away before halftime by jumping to a 31-11 halftime advantage. Marshall had two more points in the first half than the Panthers scored as a team.

The Roadrunners nearly pushed the lead to 30 points in the third quarter as Martin, Marshall and junior guard Alyssa Albanese contributed to a 10-0 run during a 2-minute span, extending the Roadrunners' advantage to 46-18. Leading 48-22 at the start of the fourth quarter, Seton watched Paul VI's Jessica Long score eight consecutive points, but the Panthers did not score again after that for more than five minutes.

McNamara started and ended slowly against St. John's. The Mustangs spotted the Cadets an early 7-0 lead but responded with a 12-0 run late in the first quarter and early in the second to claim a 24-17 lead. McNamara owned a 37-33 advantage at the intermission.

But much of the second half belonged to St. John's. The Cadets used a 9-0 run early in the third quarter to claim a 41-39 advantage. After the teams exchanged leads three times in the third period, St. John's still owned a 47-46 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

With the game tied at 52-52 midway through the fourth quarter following a three-point play from McNamara's Michaea Bryant, St. John's responded with a pivotal 9-2 run with Mariah Jones (13 points) and Mooriah Rowzer (23 points) doing damage inside and at the foul line. Jones and Nicola Zimmer (11 points) connected each hit two foul shots in the final minute to keep the Mustangs from getting any closer than four points.

"I just don't think we matched their intensity in the second half," said McNamara first-year coach Rod Hairston, who guided Eleanor Roosevelt to the Class 4A state title the past five years and suffered his first postseason loss since 2004. "We didn't get a lot of those 50-50 balls. I want to commend St. John's for playing a great game. They fought harder than we did in the second half. It was a great learning experience for the girls. This is a very competitive conference. The girls that we'll have back next year will be battle tested."

In her final game with the Mustangs, senior Cierra Strickland led the way with 20 points, nine more than junior guard Taylor Brown (11) who was held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Strickland, who is headed to George Mason University this fall to play basketball and major in business management, was hoping to play one more game for the Mustangs.

"It was a great season," Strickland said. "We finished second in the league. We had a new coach and we all came together. I think the other girls coming back next year will have a chance to play for a championship."