Marian girls face Minersville in semis

CLASS 2A GIRLS SEMIFINALS

No. 2. Minersville (21-3) vs. No. 3 Marian (16-6)

TIPOFF: Monday, Feb. 26 at Pottsville, 6 p.m.

COACHES: Minersville - Jared Homa (8th season); Marian - Paul Brutto (27th season)

LEADING SCORERS: Minersville - Maggie Wigoda (17.0), Alex Kroznuskie (13.0), Emily Kriston (12.6); Marian - Emily Shaud (12.18), Emma McClafferty (8.59), Isabella Schwabe (7.82).

GAME NOTES: The Miners and Fillies played earlier this season on Jan. 26 with Minersville coming away with an impressive 16-point victory ... The Miners top scorers throughout the season, Maggie Wigoda (15) and Emily Kriston (9), combined for 26 points. An “X factor” in the game for Minersville was Emily Graeff, who scored 15 points, including four triples. Sophomore Emily Shaud led Marian in scoring with 15 points ... Minersville held Marian to just 33 points in their first match-up, which is 13 points below its season average ... The Fillies made just one three-point field goal in that contest. They will need to make more shots from the outside in the playoffs to come through with a “W.” Marian will depend on Emily Shaud to get them going from deep, as she leads the team with 29 three-pointers. Reese Erbe and Macy Alansky can also catch fire as they have hit 18 and 17 triples, respectively ... Over the past 10 seasons, Minersville and Marian have combined to win six District 11 championships. Marian has won two in 1A, while the Miners have won the last four 2A championships. The two programs have also each captured a state title during that span. Marian won a 1A state championship in 2008, while Minersville won the 2A title last season.

QUOTABLE: “We have to rebound better this time around. We gave up too many second-and-third-chance points last time and that definitely hurt us. We’ve been working on that a lot over the last two weeks - not only the fundamentals, but the mentality of rebounding. Defensively, we have to limit their transition opportunities. I thought we did a pretty good job defending in the half court, but they hurt us in transition. Then, of course, we have to make shots.” - Marian head coach Paul Brutto.