When it's crunch time, there's no time to think. Muscle memory needs to take over and the job just has to get done.

A young Panther Valley team took a big stride in the right direction on Saturday in a non-league contest with Palmerton.The Lady Panthers trailed by one point with 14 ticks left on the clock. On the Blue Bombers' ensuing inbound play, PV guard Christina Dacey and Co. instinctively put on the full court trap. The sophomore helped force a Palmerton turnover under its own hoop and Dacey dropped in the go-ahead layup.After a few foul shots, Panther Valley earned its initial victory of the season by clawing its way to a 45-42 victory over Palmerton."They did that all on their own," said Panther Valley head coach William Lynn of his team's late defensive efforts. "The reality is, that they're starting to get things. There were a couple times that we told them to double team if they could. They're young, but they're getting it. It's a long time to get a win."Linnaea Leister was able to keep Palmerton in the game single handedly, as she was the lone Blue Bomber in double figures and scored a game-high 20 points."She plays well, a lot of people guard her," said Palmerton head coach Rodney Strohl. "We need some of the other girls to step up. But, that's the way basketball goes, I've coached enough games to know that. They (PV) played well and made a lot of shots. I think we just got tired. We played a tough rivalry game against Northern Lehigh last night (Friday) and we were a little sluggish at the start of the game. But, I have to hand it to them."Dacey had a ton of offensive support during the win. Freshman forward Richelle Filer poured in 15 points to help give Panther Valley the boost it needed."I keep telling her that she's not a freshman anymore, she's a veteran," said the Panther Valley coach. "The last few days I knew we had to get her to score, that was part of our game plan to get the ball to her. She played enough games, she makes some mistakes, but she always comes back. She certainly had a heck of a game, rebounding and shooting."The clutch steal in the closing sequence was one of 24 turnovers that Panther Valley created during the win. Taking care of the ball was surely an integral part of its success."I think we're starting to gel together," Dacey explained. "We knew they had shooters, everyone played really well on defense. We need to keep working on our shooting and our defense."LIVING DOWNTOWN … Leister was on fire despite the loss, splashing in four three-pointers. PV also combined for four long-balls; three from Chloe Markovich and one from Brianna Picht. Picht's three-pointer was her lone bucket of the game, but it put her team ahead at one point during a critical sequence in the final frame."We definitely wanted to win this game," Picht emphatically said. "We came in with confidence and we wanted to win. Coach kept drilling it in our heads to keep shooting; to shoot with confidence. When the second half came, we did that."CAREER PERFORMANCE … Filer drained a career-high 15 points during the win against Palmerton. She led her team in scoring during both games of the holiday Christmas tournament a few weeks ago. The freshman seems to be gaining confidence every time she steps on the hardwood.Lynn said, "We're improving and one thing for sure is, these kids play hard and don't quit."PALMERTONHirochek 0-0-0-0, Leister 7-2-2-20, Frantz 0-0-0-0, Wentz 3-1-2-7, Muniz 3-1-3-7, Beers 1-2-2-4, Goodhile 2-0-0-4. TOTALS: 16-6-9-42.PANTHER VALLEYWeaver 0-0-0-0, Knoblauch 0-0-2-0, Picht 1-0-0-3, Filer 5-5-10-15, Dacey 5-8-9-18, Miller 0-0-2-0, C.Markovich 3-0-2-9, Miller 0-0-2-0. TOTALS: 14-13-25-45.Palmerton 4 11 12 15 - 42Panther Vy 4 10 14 17- 45Three-pointers: Palmerton Leister 4; Panther Valley - Markovich 3, Picht 1.