MAHANOY CITY - There’s a good reason why the Mahanoy Area girls’ basketball team is the head of the class in the Schuylkill Girls Basketball League Division III.

The Golden Bears find ways to exploit the other teams’ weakness.

That was the case Thursday when Mahanoy Area rolled to an impressive 46-26 victor over Marian.

The win keeps Mahanoy Area in the top spot in the division race at 7-0, with Nativity a half-game back at 7-1. Marian, which played only for the fourth time in this COVID-19 season, falls to 1-2 in the league and 1-3 overall.

Both teams struggled offensively in the opening half, as evidenced by a 6-6 first quarter tie and the Bears’ narrow 16-14 halftime edge.

The only reason the Area was in front was because Cealinn Macleary and Allyson Babinsky put in the final two baskets on the half.

To say it was ugly would be an understatement, as the teams combined to shoot just 6-for-28 (21 percent) from the floor.

There were reasons for that, however, as practice for both teams have been almost nonexistent recently.

“This was the first time we’ve been in the gym since last Saturday,” said Mahanoy Area’s first-year coach Eric Moucheron, referring to the day the Bears hung a first league loss on Nativity.

The Fillies were in a similar position, but Marian coach Paul Brutto said rustiness was far from his team’s only problem.

“Lack of practice was a part of it, but their pressure was a bigger part of it,” Brutto said.

While both teams may have been in the same boat, Marian is rowing up stream with four underclassmen trying to steer the ship. Meanwhile, Mahanoy Area has some veteran players and is vying for another division crown.

The Area was able to get separation in the third quarter because of that pressure Brutto alluded to. The Bears forced nine turnovers in the third period, and the Fillies shot 0-for-7 from the floor.

Add in the terrific offensive display by 5-7 senior sparkplug Claudia Clark, who was sensational in the second half and in particular in the third quarter. Clark led Mahanoy Area with 19 points, while Macleary added 14 in a supporting role.

Clark posted 11 of those points in the third period as the Bears outscored Marian 22-1.

“We wanted to exploit the middle, spread things out, and hit some threes,” Moucheron said about the Bears’ third-quarter success. “Our offense runs through Claudia, and by far she is one of the best offensive players in the league.”

Marian certainly isn’t about to dispute that.

“Lack of practice is part of it, and fatigue is part of it,” Brutto said as his team hasn’t played a game since Jan. 7. “But you have to give Mahanoy a lot of the credit for our problems, too. They execute what they do very well. They sped us up and got us out of sorts, and caused a lot of bad decision making.”

SHOOTING IT UP … Mahanoy had a strong second half shooting the ball, going 11-for-19.

SLIVER OF HOPE … Marian is going to be better. Not right away, but once it gets more time under its belt. Freshman Carly Minchoff tallied eight points, while sophomore Ashley Pleban added seven to lead the Fillies.

MARIAN

Minchoff 4-0-0-8, Pleban 2-2-4-7, Digris 2-0-0-5, Martinelli 2-0-0-4, Walsh1-0-0-2, Degaetano 0-0-0-0, Nemeth 0-0-0-0, Possessky 0-0-0-0, Klitsch 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 10-2-6-26.

MAHANOY AREA

Clark 7-4-6-19, Macleary 7-0-2-14, Babinsky 1-3-4-5, McGroarty 1-2-4-4, Moss 1-0-0-3, Kramer 0-1-2-1, Quick 0-0-0-0, Kessock 0-0-0-0, Cavenas 0-0-0-0, Bowels 0-0-0-0, Derr 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 17-10-18-46.

Marian 5 9 1 11 - 26

Mahanoy Area 6 10 22 8 - 46

Three-pointers: Marian - Pleban 1, Digris 1; Mahanoy Area - Clark 1, Moss 1.