Marian's Addy Fritz drives to the basket as Williams Valley's Sage Smeltz defends during Thursday's Schuylkill League Division II clash in Hometown (Photo by James Gelatko).

HOMETOWN — Williams Valley’s patented zone defense proved to be just what the Vikings needed to stop the No. 1 team in Schuylkill League Division II girls’ basketball.

Williams Valley knocked off Marian 41-34 on Thursday night, handing the Fillies their first league loss and snapping their 17-game win streak.

In their first meeting Marian won 28-23 in Tower City, but the Vikings flipped the script Thursday at the Jack Malarkey Gymnasium.

Sage Smeltz led the Vikings with 12 points, working her way around the paint and going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. Mallory Miller chipped in 11 points, connecting on three 3-pointers. The victory gave Williams Valley their sixth straight win, improving them to 17-2 overall and 11-1 in league play.

“They beat us at home, so we wanted to come beat them out here,” senior Sage Smeltz said. “We were really preparing for this game and had to have confidence.”

The Vikings sure had confidence from behind the arc — hitting seven 3-pointers — as well as their zone defense.

Marian was only able to connect on four 3-point attempts.

“We’ve been trying to get to their shooters. We played our zone and Sage (Smeltz) played tough in the middle. We forced them to kick the ball out,” Williams Valley coach Shane Zellers said.

Deanna Pugh scored the opening layup for the Fillies before the Vikings scored seven straight points. The Fillies were able to knot the score at 10 to end the first quarter.

Miller scored eight of her 11 points in the second quarter, nailing two 3-pointers. Addy Marek scored four points in the frame to keep Marian close, but Ireland Kasper banked in a deep three before the buzzer to put Williams Valley up 25-19 at the half.

Sage Smeltz scored four of her 12 points after the break, using her strong frame to push her way to the rim through contact. Her sister, Quin, added a 3-pointer, the duo scoring all of the Vikings’ third-quarter points.

Williams Valley kept up the pressure, extended their scoring and never looked back.

Williams Valley has league games remaining at Lourdes on Saturday and with Weatherly on Monday, while Marian visits Shenandoah Valley on Monday. Should the teams end up tied, they would be declared co-champions with the District 11 power rating used to determine seeding for the league playoffs.

“We had to play our best,” Miller said. “Our defense needed to be on and we needed to make plays happen.”

That not only was Williams Valley’s motivation but proved to be their execution.

Game Summary

WILLIAMS VALLEY (41) — Kobularik 2 0-0 4, Miller 4 0-0 11, Q. Smeltz 2 2-2 8, S. Smeltz 4 4-4 12, Kasper 2 0-0 6, Hand 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 6-6 41.

MARIAN (34) — Fritz 4 0-2 8, Pugh 4 0-1 9, Hasara 1 0-0 3, Thomas 1 1-2 3, Marek 3 3-4 11, Carone 0 0-0 0, Hannis-Miskar 0 0-0 0, S. Serfass 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 4-9 34.

WV (18-2, 11-1)             10 … 15 … 9 … 7 — 41

Mar (19-2, 12-1)            10 … 9 … 8 … 7 — 34

3-point FGs: Miller 3, Q. Smeltz 2, Kasper 2, Pugh, Hasara, Marek 2

JV Score: No game

Officials: Erie, Shinkus