In the beginning, Panther Valley’s all-time leading scorer kept the game close.

But with a second-half blitz, Palmerton pulled away for a convincing 61-38 District 11 3A quarterfinal round victory on Thursday.

PV’s Erika Dubosky scored her team’s 10 first-period points to keep the seventh-seeded Panthers’ deficit at only four with 3:42 remaining in the opening quarter. Included in that early burst was a short jump shot that made Dubosky her school’s all-time leading scorer.

Despite Dubosky’s best efforts, however, the second-seeded Blue Bombers (13-5) weren’t going to be denied.

Led by Brianna Moore’s 15 first-half points, Palmerton increased its advantage to 31-21 points on Moore’s short jumper with 20 seconds left before the intermission. The junior sharpshooter finished the night with 21 points on an array of in-the-lane jumpers, full-court layups, running one-handers, and one long triple.

Palmerton’s transition game was too much for the young Panthers, who struggled early with turnovers, mostly because of the Bombers’ half-court pressure.

“We play pretty well when we score off our defensive pressure,” said Bombers’ coach Dan Beck.

Down just 10 points at the start of the second half, Panther Valley (6-17) still had some hope for a comeback, but Palmerton emerged from the locker room and ran out to a 9-3 tear. Moore started the blitz with a great feed to Reagan Nemeth behind Panther Valley’s zone defense. After PV’s Abbey Vermillion hit a three, Moore stole an errant pass for a fast break layup to put the Bombers up 38-24.

Beck called Moore a bolt of lightning.

“She’s all hands and all feet, and is all over the court going 100 miles an hour,” said Beck.

Palmerton’s Beth Morgan contributed six points in the third quarter as her team’s lead ballooned to 17 points. Meanwhile, Dubosky fought through double-teams all night and worked hard to score 12 points in each half.

Both Beck and PV coach Bill Lynn praised the Panthers’ star.

“She’s a hell of a player,” said Beck. “You just can’t stop her no matter what you try.”

“She’s a special kid,” said Lynn. “No matter what they do on defense, she manages to get her double-double most every night. She’s worked so hard for everything she’s earned. We’re going to miss her.”

In addition to Moore’s big night, Morgan added 16 points and Nemeth had 14 for Palmerton.

“We moved the ball well tonight,” said Beck. “But we took too many ill-advised shots. We need to be more patient.”

The Bombers will host Palisades on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the D-11 semifinals.

FINAL TOTAL ... Dubosky finished with a game-high 24 points, giving her a career total of 1,472 points.

THREE IS NOT ENOUGH ... The Panthers were only able to get scoring from three players. Besides Dubosky, Maddison Maynard tallied 11 and Vermillion had three.

SEVEN IS ENOUGH ... Palmerton was dominant on the offensive boards. During one trip down the court, Moore eventually scored on a jump shot after six straight missed shots and follow up opportunities for the Bombers.

PANTHER VALLEY

Dubosky 11-1-2-24, Maynard 4-1-3-11, Vermillion 1-0-0-3. Robin 0-0-0-0, Eidle 0-0-0-0, Ha. Schreffler 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 16-2-5-38.

PALMERTON

Moore 10 -0-0-21, Morgan 6-4-4-16, Nemeth 5-1-2-14, Gursky 2-2-4-6, Balliet 1-2-2-4, Frantz 0-0-0-0, Matsko 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 24-9-12-61.

Panther Vy. 10 11 8 9 - 38

Palmerton 14 17 15 15 - 61

Three-pointers: PV - Dubosky 1, Maynard 2, Vermillion 1; Palmerton - Nemeth 3, Moore 1.