Mahanoy Area's Felicia Bro drives the lane during Saturday's Schuylkill League girls' basketball quarterfinal win over Tamaqua at Martz Hall (Photo by Eli Doyle).

Mahanoy Area edges Tamaqua 44-40

POTTSVILLE — Mahanoy Area head coach Tom Scheeler was worried how his squad would handle playing on the big floor at Martz Hall for the first time.

The Golden Bears handled the pressure of the big crowd, the big lights and the intense atmosphere just fine, especially in the fourth quarter.

Mahanoy Area made all the plays down the stretch to capture a 44-40 victory over Tamaqua in a Schuylkill League girls’ basketball quarterfinal Saturday afternoon.

Felicia Bro scored a team-high 17 points, Ella Connolly added 14 points and Lilly Carl and Naomi Kowalick each made clutch plays in the final minutes as the Division II runners-up earned their first Schuylkill League playoff victory since 2019.

The Golden Bears (18-5) advance to Tuesday’s Schuylkill League semifinals, where they will face Division I champion Schuylkill Haven (18-4) at 7:30 p.m. at Martz Hall.

“One of my worries coming down here was … this is our first time playing here, this group’s first time playing here,” Scheeler said. “I didn’t know how they would react to this place.

“It’s a little bit bigger court and the surroundings make it look so big. But it’s still basketball. Our girls handled it. We didn’t play nervous.”

Tamaqua (16-7) defeated Mahanoy Area 40-32 in a non-league game Dec. 27 in Tamaqua. The Blue Raiders were the better team down the stretch, using a 14-6 run in the fourth quarter to grab a 40-32 victory.

This time, it was Mahanoy Area that made the plays in the second half after the teams were tied 22-22 at intermission.

And at the center of it all was Bro, one of the Schuylkill League’s superstars.

“She’s our senior leader,” Scheeler said. “When we needed big plays, she came up with them.”

With the game tied at 30-30 late in the third quarter, Bro hit a pair of free throws, then scored on a drive to the basket with 2 seconds left in the frame to put Mahanoy Area up 34-30.

Carl then opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer off a feed from Bro to give Mahanoy Area its biggest lead at 37-30.

“I thought we kept our composure really well when the game got close,” Bro said. “We just kept doing what we needed to do.

“It’s a really big win for us to come in and play with that much confidence here on a big stage like this,” Bro continued. “It’s just awesome.”

Tamaqua answered with a 3-pointer by Kendle Miller and a steal and layup by Millie Black to make it 37-35 with 5:28 remaining. After Connolly and the Raiders’ Lauren Ligenza traded baskets, Kowalick made the defensive play of the game by taking a charge on a Ligenza drive to the basket.

Kowalick had four fouls at the time.

“I thought the offensive foul that Naomi took was huge,” Scheeler said. “She was in there with four fouls. At first, I thought, ‘Oh no, she’s out of the game.’ The momentum was with us at that point.”

Kowalick, a junior forward, came up clutch again moments later, draining a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put Mahanoy Area up 42-37 with 2:01 remaining.

The triple came after Tamaqua couldn’t convert a pair of inside shots that would have tied the score.

Ligenza, who led all scorers with 18 points, kept Tamaqua in it with a 3-pointer with 26.6 seconds left. The Blue Raiders fouled three times to get in the bonus, the last time fouling Bro with 19.6 left.

The senior standout buried both shots to make it a two-possession game and Tamaqua wasn’t able to score the rest of the way.

“I just had to remember that they were just like any other free throw,” Bro said. “I knew I had to make them.”

A key part of the game was Mahanoy Area’s ability to keep Tamaqua off the glass, especially on the offensive end. The Bears outrebounded the Raiders 28-22, with Connolly having eight rebounds and Bro and Carl each pulling down six.

More importantly, Mahanoy Area didn’t get rattled during an intense fourth quarter, showing maturity on the big stage when it mattered most.

“The big thing going into the game was keeping them off the offensive boards,” Scheeler said. “They do a great job hitting the boards. We didn’t give up many second and third shots. Ligenza and Black are so strong inside, they kind of play volleyball in there. We didn’t let them do that today.

“At this time of the year, it’s all icing on the cake. One of our goals was to get to the league playoffs. Getting a win here, getting to play again, this is what it’s all about.”

Game Summary

Schuylkill League Girls’ Quarterfinals

At Martz Hall, Pottsville

TAMAQUA (40) — M. Black 2 1-2 5, Ellington 1 0-0 2, Ligenza 8 0-4 18, L. Black 1 2-5 4, Gormley 0 0-0 0, Miller 4 0-0 11, Osenbach 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 3-11 40.

MAHANOY AREA (44) — Wonsock 1 0-0 2, Bro 6 4-4 17, Carl 2 0-0 6, Kowalick 2 0-0 5, Connolly 7 0-0 14. Totals 18 4-4 44.

3-point FGs: Ligenza 2, Miller 3, Bro, Carl 2, Kowalick

Officials: Bulka, Gerald Misstishin, Brosious