D-11 Basketball Roundup: North Schuylkill tops Tamaqua in girls’ quarterfinal
Mya Conti, North Schuylkill girls' basketball
POTTSVILLE — One quarter flipped everything.
North Schuylkill turned a halftime deficit into a District 11 Class 4A quarterfinal victory Saturday, using a dominant third quarter to defeat Tamaqua 46-40 at Martz Hall.
The fifth-seeded Spartans (17-8) outscored the fourth-seeded Blue Raiders 16-3 in the third period, erasing an eight-point halftime hole and seizing control of Round 3 between the Schuylkill League Division I rivals.
Tamaqua (16-8) led 29-21 at the break after a strong second quarter sparked by Millie Black, who finished with a game-high 18 points. The Blue Raiders appeared poised to win the rubber match after the teams split the regular-season meetings.
Instead, North Schuylkill came out of the locker room with purpose.
Mya Conti scored seven of her team-high 17 points in the third quarter, knocking down key shots to ignite the surge. Gianna Capone buried two 3-pointers as part of her 13-point effort, and Jadelin Stitzler added three points during the decisive run.
In just eight minutes, the Spartans flipped the script — turning an eight-point deficit into a five-point lead entering the fourth.
Tamaqua managed just one field goal in the third quarter as North Schuylkill tightened defensively and controlled tempo.
The Blue Raiders attempted to rally in the final frame behind Kendle Miller, who hit three 3-pointers and scored 10 points, and Lauren Ligenza, who added eight points. But the Spartans answered at the foul line and with timely baskets to keep the margin intact.
Capone’s perimeter shooting and Conti’s steady scoring paced North Schuylkill, while Monica Selgrade chipped in five points and Katie Urbanowicz, Stitzler and Ella Digris each contributed to a balanced effort.
North Schuylkill advances to Wednesday’s semifinals, where it will face another familiar foe in Blue Mountain (13-11), which knocked off top-seeded Lehighton 49-34 in Saturday’s quarterfinal round at Palmerton.
Game Summary
District 11 Class 4A Quarterfinal
At Martz Hall
TAMAQUA (40) — M. Black 8 2-7 18, Ligenza 3 2-2 8, Miller 3 1-2 10, L. Black 0 2-2 2, Gormley 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 7-13 40.
NORTH SCHUYLKILL (46) — Selgrade 1 3-4 5, Conti 6 3-4 17, Urbanowicz 1 0-0 2, Capone 5 0-1 13, Stitzler 3 0-0 6, Digris 1 0-0 3. Totals 17 6-9 46.
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
| Tam (16-8) | 9 | 20 | 3 | 8 | 40 |
| NS (17-8) | 8 | 13 | 16 | 9 | 46 |
3-point FGs: Miller 3, Conti 2, Capone 3, Digris
Officials: Gerchak, Cooper, Burke
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
Executive Education 58, Mahanoy Area 49
BRODHEADSVILLE — Executive Education defeated Mahanoy Area in a District 11 Class 3A boys’ playoff game at Pleasant Valley High School.
The Raptors led 18-12 after one quarter and maintained control throughout, matching Mahanoy Area point-for-point in the second before extending the margin in the second half.
Jaxon Lopes poured in a game-high 20 points, knocking down five 3-pointers to pace Executive Ed. Noah Bass added 17 points, including four 3-pointers, while Cameron Michael chipped in nine points.
Mahanoy Area was led by Connor Bowman’s 16 points, highlighted by four 3-pointers. Ryan Zilker added 14 points, Cam Smith nailed a trio of 3’s for nine points and Nico DiCasimirro contributed eight.
The Golden Bears trailed 33-27 at halftime and could not get closer than six points down the stretch as Executive Education converted 11 free throws to seal the win.
Executive Education will take on No. 1 seeded Minersville (23-1) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Martz Hall.
MAHANOY AREA (49) — Bowman 6 0-0 16, Perez 0 0-0 0, DiCasimirro 3 1-2 8, Cedenio 1 0-0 2, Smith 3 0-0 9, Ramos 0 0-0 0, Zilker 5 4-6 14. Totals 18 5-8 49.
EXECUTIVE EDUCATION (58) — Michael 1 6-8 9, Bass 6 1-3 17, Williams 2 1-4 5, Styles 0 0-0 0, Lopes 5 3-4 20, Amos 1 0-0 3, Tung 2 0-2 4. Totals 18 11-21 58.
| Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Final |
| Mah (9-14) | 12 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 49 |
| EE (14-6) | 18 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 58 |
