Defending Division II state champion St. Louis Catholic will make its fourth consecutive appearance in the finals.

And while they won’t face Liberty a fourth time, it will be a familiar face in No. 3 St. Thomas More.

The Saints (31-3) and Cougars (25-7) will play at 5:15 p.m. today at the Alario Center in Westwego.

The Saints beat STM 47-41 in the semifinals last season, using a 13-4 run to break open a one-point game in the fourth quarter.

The Saints know exactly where to turn their attention in Cougars 6-foot center A.C. Froehlich. The junior almost had a triple-double in STM’s semifinal win over Vandebilt Catholic Tuesday with 18 points, 21 rebounds and nine blocks.

“St. Thomas More is very well coached,” St. Louis head coach Tony Johnson said. “They have a big girl (Froehlich ) that they try to get the ball to.

“We are going to figure out how to stop that big girl. They are fast and like to play man to man. We are going to do what we do and make sure we execute the things that are going to make us successful.”

Johnson said senior MacKenzie Williams will be one of the Saints’ defensive countermeasures against Froehlich.

“We are going to do a bunch of different things with our defenses,” Johnson said. “(Williams) is probably our most physical ballplayers. She knows how to handle herself in the post. This girl (Froehlich) is a 6-foot post player, but she is a finesse player. She doesn’t like to be pushed around. That is what we do. We are going to be physical with her.”

St. Louis will look to control the boards like it did Tuesday against Ben Franklin with Myca Trail (24 points, 15 rebounds) and Paris Guillory (22 points, 17 rebounds) each posting double-doubles.

“Whatever we have to do we do it,” Johnson said. “That team (Ben Franklin) was a big-time offensive rebounding team, and we outrebounded them big time. We were on the boards. That is what we were preaching before the game.

“Defensive pressure is going to lead to easy buckets for us. We will see if they can handle our pressure.”

Johnson said he’s not worried about playing so far away from home because the Saints have played the last two seasons on the road after Hurricanes Laura and Delta destroyed their gym in 2020. The Saints have used five gyms for practice and split home games between Burton Coliseum and McNeese State’s Legacy Center.

“The experience is paying off,” Johnson said. “We are just excited to be here again because these kids worked really hard in order to get here once again.

“We have been practicing at everybody’s gym with no home court. That is an advantage for us when we come on the road and play like this. I am very proud of the things that they are doing.”