North Schuylkill forward Jadelin Stitzer in a game earlier this season. Stitzer had nine points and 10 rebounds Saturday in the Spartans 41-24 win over Lehighton in the District 11 Class 4A girls' basketball quarterfinals (Photo by Justin Reed/Skook News).

ORWIGSBURG — North Schuylkill’s style of basketball isn’t pretty.

It’s physical, in your face, hands on the ball pressure defense that clogs passing lanes and forces turnovers that result in offensive chances.

The Spartans’ aggressive defense was on display Saturday afternoon in a District 11 Class 4A girls’ basketball quarterfinal against Lehighton.

North Schuylkill held the Indians to just four field goals and 14 points over the final three quarters, pulling away for a 41-24 victory at Blue Mountain High School.

The victory moves the second-seeded Spartans (19-6) into Wednesday’s semifinals against No. 3 Palmerton, a 55-41 winner over Wilson Area.

Lehighton’s season ends at 10-13.

“Defensively, we gave up just nine points in the second half,” North Schuylkill coach Rich Wetzel said. “Our ability to come out of halftime and be able to switch what we do, it’s still pressure but it’s a different look, is huge now.

“It took us this long in the year that I felt comfortable enough to play a different press and play a different half-court defense. It’s a look they couldn’t have saw because we hadn’t played it in one game yet.”

North Schuylkill, the Schuylkill League runner-up, expanded an 18-15 halftime lead with a dominating third quarter.

Defensively, the Spartans went with a different full-court pressure defense and was more aggressive in the half-court setting. They limited the Indians to a 1-for-10 shooting performance from the field and forced 10 turnovers.

Offensively, junior forward Jadelin Stitzer gave North Schuylkill the spark it needed with a pair of buckets off offensive rebounds and a pair of free throws in a 16-3 run that stretched into the fourth quarter and gave the Spartans a 34-19 lead.

Despite playing at a height disadvantage inside, the 5-foot-8 Stitzer finished with nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

“I like getting rebounds and playing hard for my team so they can get their shots,” Stitzer said. “I just try to get the ball and play hard for my team because I like winning.

“We changed our press so we could get some steals.”

The Spartans also started to hit some outside shots. Gianna Capone and Mya Conti each hit long 3-pointers and Conti had a foul-line jumper in the spurt.

Maria Monahan also had a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter as the Spartans extended that run to 22-5 to take a 40-21 lead with 3:30 remaining.

Conti finished with a game-high 15 points, hitting four 3-pointers, while Capone had six points and eight rebounds.

“Shots weren’t going in for us in the first half,” said Wetzel, whose club shot 6-for-32 from the field and was 3-for-17 from 3-point range in the first two frames.

 “You can get a 3-point shot any time you want. But when we wait in the possession, get 2-3 touches, a post touch and a kick-out, our shooting percentage goes up to the mid-30s the entire team.”

Hitting outside shots was the problem for Lehighton, which shot just 4-for-35 from the field and 0-for-9 from 3-point range over the final three quarters.

The Indians started strong, opening the game on a 7-1 run and leading 10-7 after one period, but a pair of 3-pointers by Conti allowed the Spartans to get back in it, forge a halftime lead, then blow it open in the second half.

“Their defense is tough,” Lehighton coach Nadia Gauronsky said. “We missed a couple of open opportunities. I don’t think their press is what killed us, but the half-court set we made some mistakes as they trapped the ball in the corners and we couldn’t find open looks.

“You have to put the ball in the basket to win the game and we just didn’t do that.”

Gauronsky, in her first year at Lehighton after 11 seasons at Pleasant Valley and three seasons at Jim Thorpe, was happy with her squad’s campaign overall and is excited about the future.

Senior Emma Repsher led the Indians with eight points Saturday.

“To get here is a huge accomplishment,” Gauronsky said. “I give a lot of credit to the underclassmen who carried the load for a lot of the time. Leah Uyvari and Ryleigh Trotman took it upon their shoulders when Emma was hurt and carried the team. They’ve made a big change and a big difference. Cayley Reph and Morgan Costenbader, they’re both sophomores.

“This is a new experience for them to play in a district game, but I was proud of them in the first half. They did a really nice job. The game got away from them when (North Schuylkill) made shots.”

Game Summary

District 11 Girls’ Basketball

Class 4A Quarterfinal

At Blue Mountain High School

LEHIGHTON (24) — Reph 1 1-4 3, Klotz 1 0-0 3, Uyvari 1 2-4 4, Trotman 3 0-0 6, Repsher 2 4-7 8, Costenbader 0 0-0 0, Sheckler 0 0-0 0, Arzuagu 0 0-0 0, Solt 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 7-15 24.

NORTH SCHUYLKILL (41) — Conti 5 1-2 15, Monahan 2 0-0 5, Capone 2 1-2 6, Ja. Stitzer 3 3-5 9, Kane 0 4-8 4, Selgrade 1 0-0 2, Balicki 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 9-17 41.

Leh (10-13)            10 … 5 … 4 … 5 — 24

NS (19-6)                7 … 11 … 14 … 9 — 41

3-point FGs: Klotz, Conti 4, Monahan, Capone

Officials: Karinch, Merwine, Zoltack