Williams Valley's Ella Kobularik, left, and Mahanoy Area's Ella Connolly jump for the opening tip as referee Rick Wojciechowsky tosses up the ball (Photo by Leroy Boyer).

TOWER CITY — It was textbook basketball on how to beat a zone defense.

With Felicia Bro running the point, Mahanoy Area continued to pass the ball around the perimeter of Williams Valley’s 2-3 alignment, to Lilly Carl on one wing, back to Bro, to Juliana Wonsock on the other wing, then reverse it.

It continued at a rapid pace … every once in a while a pass would go into the middle where Naomi Kowalick was positioned on the foul line, then back out. Meanwhile, Ella Connolly worked back and forth through the lane down low, drawing the defense’s attention.

The possession took over a minute and featured at least 20-25 passes. Once the Bears got the Vikings tired of moving back and forth and caught them leaning too far on one side, the ball whipped back around and … splash. Carl drained a wide-open 3-pointer from the left corner.

The set detailed above was Mahanoy Area’s first possession of the second half and triggered a 10-point run that helped the Golden Bears down Williams Valley 34-28 in a Schuylkill League Division II clash.

The victory clinched a Schuylkill League playoff berth for the Bears (14-4, 10-1 D-II), their first since 2021.

“We stress that point against zones like this … move the ball, move the ball, move the ball,” Mahanoy Area coach Tom Scheeler said. “Be quick, don’t hold it, don’t let them reset.

“After we made that shot, I said to my assistants, ‘That’s a great set.’ It was. We just kept working and we got something.”

In a nutshell, that possession defined the game.

Mahanoy Area was patient offensively, held the ball on nearly every possession, while Williams Valley seemed content with rushing perimeter shots and not waiting for the best shot.

The game was tied at 16-16 at halftime. After Carl’s 3-pointer, Connolly scored on a layup off a feed from Bro, Kowalick made a layup off a feed from Connolly and Bro converted a three-point play after driving to the basket.

The 10-0 spurt gave Mahanoy Area a 26-16 lead. When Kowalick opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer and Connolly added another inside layup, the Bears led 31-18 and weren’t really threatened the rest of the way.

A last-second 3-pointer by Ireland Kasper made the score appear much closer than it actually was.

“That movement really helped us get the wide-open shot and that shot gave us the momentum we needed to carry through the rest of the second half,” Bro said of Mahanoy Area’s key offensive possession.

“We knew it was going to be tough to come here and beat them. It feels amazing and we’re really excited.”

While Mahanoy Area found its groove offensively, Williams Valley struggled.

The Vikings missed their first 10 shots of the third quarter, went 1-for-12 (.083) in the frame and scored just two points. When Mallory Miller hit a 3-pointer with 3:30 left in the game, it ended a streak of 12 straight misses from beyond the arc.

Kasper had eight points and Quin Smeltz seven for Williams Valley, which shot 4-for-25 (.160) from the field in the second half and 10-for-49 (.204) for the game. Of those 49 shot attempts, 31 were from 3-point range. The Vikes hit only four (.129).

“We have to shoot the ball better,” Williams Valley coach Shane Zellers said. “I feel we’re getting good looks, we just have to knock those good looks down.

“We spend a lot of time shooting at practice. It’s just not translating right now (to the game).”

Bro led all scorers with 15 points for Mahanoy Area, while Connolly finished with nine points and Kowalick added seven points. Carl had seven rebounds and the diminutive Wonsock ripped down five.

The end result was a season sweep of the Vikings and Mahanoy Area’s first trip to the Schuylkill League playoffs since winning a fifth straight Division III title in 2021.

“District and league playoffs … that’s our two goals every year,” Scheeler said. “After last year when we didn’t get into the league playoffs, that was a big goal of ours.

“Marian beat us twice last year, Williams Valley beat us twice last year. We knew going in we had to beat those teams.”

Added Bro: “It feels great to finally make the league playoffs. We’ve had this goal since the summer. It feels great.”

For Williams Valley, the picture isn’t as clear. The Vikes control their own destiny, but it won’t be easy.

The Vikings’ third straight loss drops Williams Valley into a three-way tie with Marian (9-9, 6-5) and Shenandoah Valley (9-9, 6-5) for the final Division II playoff berth.

Williams Valley has games remaining with Nativity, Marian and Weatherly; Marian faces Tri-Valley, Williams Valley and Shenandoah Valley; Shenandoah Valley plays Mahanoy Area, Nativity and Marian.

The Vikings beat Marian the first round 48-28 and split with Shenandoah Valley. The Fillies beat the Devils 48-26 in their first meeting.

“That’s the goal. We talk about that,” Zellers said of making the league playoffs. “I thought we played well tonight. Hopefully we can carry that into our last four games and see how it all shakes out.”

Game Summary

MAHANOY AREA (34) — Wonsock 0 0-0 0, Bro 4 7-9 15, Carl 1 0-0 3, Kowalick 3 0-0 7, Connolly 4 1-4 9, Manley 0 0-0 0, Haughney 0 0-0 0, Christian 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 8-13 34.

WILLIAMS VALLEY (28) — Shomper 1 2-3 4, Kobularik 2 0-0 4, Miller 2 0-0 5, Smeltz 3 0-0 7, Kasper 2 2-2 8, Koppenhaver 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 4-5 28.

3-point FGs: Carl, Kowalick, Miller, Smeltz, Kasper 2

Officials: Wojciechowsky, Wartman, T. Miller

JV Score: No game