Palmerton holds off North Schuylkill

POTTSVILLE — It’s always easier playing with a lead.

And on Tuesday night, Palmerton managed to do just that for the final three quarters.

While the Blue Bombers could never pull away from North Schuylkill in their District 11 Class 3A semifinal contest, they never gave up the advantage and held on for a 54-47 victory.

The hard-fought win not only sends Palmerton into Friday’s district championship game, but it also guarantees them a spot in the state playoffs — something they haven’t accomplished since 1997.

“This is the best feeling in the world,” said junior Kayla Cincilla, who scored a game-high 18 points for Palmerton. “We haven’t made it to states in 22 years, so being that team to break us out of our shell and get back there, it just feels great.

“When we have the lead, we just have a better mindset, because once you get down a little, everybody becomes frustrated. You want to stay ahead and just keep pushing everyone to be better and stay focused.”

After battling to a 7-7 first-quarter tie, the Bombers went ahead for good on a three-pointer from Raegan Nemeth just over a minute into the second frame. A Spartans squad that played all sophomores and freshmen managed to cut the deficit to one or two points on nine separate occasions, but each time they got within striking distance to tie or take the lead, Palmerton (11-12) responded.

Three of those times it was Cincilla that came through with clutch shots, including once on a putback and another from distance.

“She’s probably the best pure shooter we have,” said Blue Bomber head coach Dan Beck. “We missed her for around 10 games this year, so she’s just finally getting back into her groove ... She’s doing a great job. She (shoots with confidence). She plays a lot of AAU and just plays a lot of basketball.

“I told the girls before the game that if things start going bad, just dig down and not worry about the previous possession. Go to the next possession and see what happens. I think we controlled most of the game from the beginning. We didn’t have to play from behind, which was a good thing.”

Beck’s club grabbed its biggest advantage at 22-14 late in the second period, after a Brianna Moore jumper, and held a six-point bulge at the half.

North Schuylkill (9-14) kept it close, thanks to its foul shooting, as it hit 14 free throws to Palmerton’s two during the middle frames. Two made shots from the line by Kaitlyn Himes and an inside basket by Joslin Stitzer closed the gap to 42-41 with 4:12 left to play, but a 6-0 Palmerton run — its biggest of the game — proved too much for the Spartans to overcome.

“It’s overwhelming right now,” said Beck. “It’s been a while since Palmerton’s been (to states). It’s emotional. I had an emotional week. My father passed away this week and my assistant coaches stepped up for me and they did a great job.

“It’s just a different level when you’re playing in districts. The intensity, every possession counts, and the girls just did a great job down the end. I thought we kept our composure.”

NEXT UP ... Palmerton will meet Notre Dame in the district title game on Friday at 6 p.m. at Catasauqua. The Crusaders defeated the Bombers 54-30 in their only meeting this season.

BOARD WORK ... Cincilla and Moore (15 points) paced the Bombers with seven rebounds apiece. Baylee Guedes, who played limited minutes due to foul trouble, pulled down five. Jaclyn Magish and Sarah Wagner both had seven for North Schuylkill.

LINK TO THE PAST ... Palmerton’s scorekeeper for Tuesday’s game was Rod Strohl, who was the coach in 1997 when the Blue Bombers last made the state playoffs.

LIMIT THE THREES ... The Bombers made an effort to take away North Schuylkill’s three-point shooters, and it paid off as the Spartans were just 1-of-13 behind the arc.

PALMERTON

H. Guedes 0-1-4-1, Papay 1-0-0-3, B. Guedes 3-0-0-6, Cincilla 7-2-5-18, Recker 0-2-4-2, Nemeth 2-2-7-8, Moore 5-5-5-15, Nothstein 0-1-2-1. TOTALS: 18-13-27-54.

NORTH SCHUYLKILL

Himes 1-4-4-7, Wetzel 1-5-6-7, Creasy 1-2-2-4, Wagner 8-0-5-16, Wittig 0-0-0-0, Fetterolf 0-0-0-0, Magish 0-7-8-7, Stitzer 3-0-0-6. TOTALS: 14-18-25-47.

Palmerton 7 21 12 14 - 54

N. Schuylkill 7 15 11 14 - 47

Three-pointers: Palmerton - Cincilla 2, Nemeth 2, Papay 1; N. Schuylkill - Himes 1.