Tamaqua found a few late heroes to punch out a 53-45 win over Panther Valley on Tuesday and improve on its District 11 playoff prospects in the process.

Although far from within reach of chasing down Schuylkill League Division I girls basketball leader North Schuylkill, Tamaqua (10-6, 3-6) moved within one victory of securing a district playoff spot.

If not for Emma Kuczynski (22 points), Emily Titus (11 points) and Rebekah Hromyak, the Raiders could have easily been a couple wins short of district qualifying.

Tamaqua was pressed to the limit, and when Panther Valley’s top scorer Christina Dacey (17 points) drained a bucket with 1:29 to play, the Panthers were down just 49-45 and thinking upset.

But Hromyak sank a pair of clutch fouls 45 seconds later, and Titus added two more conversions to secure the victory.

“We held our own there,” said Tamaqua coach Erika Davis about the potential skittish end. “Our girls did a great job down the stretch. Emma made the basket to keep us going, and then Rebekah and Emily made those big foul shots to really bail us out.”

The scoring of Dacey and Megan Pascoe (11 points), and strong rebounding from freshman Erika Dubosky (11 boards) were the game-changers for Panther Valley as the trio kept their team in the game the entire way.

“We’re getting better, and we are now starting to compete,” said Lynn. “I’m thrilled where we came from the first time we played them … but we still are making too many turnovers. To be honest, that was the difference tonight.”

The first game that Lynn was referring to was a blowout win four nights before Saint Nick hit the chimney and doled out gifts. Tamaqua owned everything in their first meeting on Dec. 21 when it routed the Panthers, 71-41.

This time, it was a near complete reversal.

Tamaqua led by just six at halftime (25-19). But early in the third period, it looked like the Raiders might be on their way to another blowout win over the Panthers.

The Raiders revved things up to extend their lead to 33-21. Titus notched five points in the outburst. By quarter’s end, the Tamaqua lead stood at 41-31.

Undaunted, Panther Valley rallied as Molly Sheridan hit a short range jumper, Pascoe drilled a triple and Rachelle Filer bagged a deuce. When Dacey swished home a triple with 2:24 remaining, the Panthers were within reach at 47-43.

But Kuczynski stepped in at that moment, as she bagged an inside bucket before the late foul shooting by Hromyak and Titus sealed the decision.

BY THE NUMBERS … Tamaqua shot 19-for-51 from the floor, while Panther Valley went 17-for-56. The turnovers had Tamaqua with 15 and PV with 19. The Raiders held a 39-29 rebounding edge, led by Kirstin Jones with 11 and Kuczynski with 10.

COUNTING IT UP … Kuczynski now has 697 career points and moved into 20th place on the all-time scoring chart, surpassing Linda Hartz, who had 680.

IN THE HOUSE … East Stroudsburg University women’s basketball coach Diane Decker was an observer at the game.

JVs … Tamaqua won the opener, 39-23. Baylee Reinhardt (12 points/13 rebounds) and Emma Hope (12/11) had double-doubles for the Raiders.

TAMAQUA

Zuber 3-0-1-9, Hromyak 1-2-2-4, Jones 1-0-0-2, Boyle 1-0-0-3, Titus 3-5-6-11, Frederickson 1-0-0-2, Kuczynski 9-3-3-22. TOTALS: 19-10-12-53.

PANTHER VALLEY

Pascoe 3-3-3-11, Dubosky 2-2-2-6, Hoben 2-0-0-5, Sheridan 1-0-0-2, Dacey 7-0-2-17, Filer 1-0-0-2, Miller 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 17-5-7-45.

Tamaqua 16 9 16 12 - 53

Panther Vy. 8 11 12 14 - 45

Three-pointers: Tamaqua - Zuber 3, Boyle 1, Kuczynski 1; PV - C. Dacey 3, Pascoe 2, Hoben 1.