POTTSVILLE - For three seasons, a District 11 championship had eluded the Jim Thorpe girls’ basketball program.

The Olympians qualified for the title game in 2019, 2020 and 2021, but they could not pull the sword out of the stone.

However, from the opening tip of its 2021-22 campaign, Thorpe (25-1) has looked like a team destined to bring home a championship.

The Olympians’ performance against Allentown Central Catholic in the Class 4A final on Saturday fulfilled that very prophecy.

It was a dominant effort for Jim Thorpe - one that made it appear the entire team was wielding Excalibur against the Vikettes - as it rolled to a 42-11 victory, capturing gold in the “Camelot” of District 11 gymnasiums at Martz Hall in Pottsville.

“I’m just so happy for these girls, and I’m happy for the community,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Nadia Gauronsky. “We thought coming in that our defense could really propel our offense and right from the beginning, we set the tone defensively.

“The girls have just been getting better and better in our man-to-man defense, and that was certainly on display during the game.”

The Olympians’ defense was definitely the story of the day, as they wasted no time putting the clamps on Central Catholic, giving up just five points in the first quarter.

The Thorpe offense started out a little sluggish as well, but two early three-pointers from Leila Hurley gave the Olympians some cushion at 8-2, and they finished the quarter ahead, 10-5.

“We knew we had to hit a few shots early, and my teammates were able to find me, and I was able to knock a few down,” said Hurley, who had four triples against North Schuylkill in the district semis. “We know how good they are defensively, so we had to get off to a good start.”

Thorpe put on a defensive clinic in the second quarter as it held the Vikettes (20-5) scoreless. Central Catholic, which runs a disciplined fast-cutting offense, could not get quality looks at the rim. And if a player did get free in the vicinity of the hoop, Thorpe’s help side did a good job collapsing to alter the shot.

The Vikettes got off just six shots in the frame, while committing five turnovers. The Olympians dominated in the rebounding department 10-3 in the quarter, with Olivia Smelas collecting four of her game-high nine boards during that span.

Smelas scored two buckets in the second quarter, and Skyler Searfoss and Leah Snisky both added deuces. Hurley then ended the quarter with a triple to give the Olympians a 21-5 lead at the half.

“We knew coming in that they wanted to slow the game down, but I thought our defense would help us to play the game at our pace, and it did,” said Gauronsky.

Jim Thorpe continued to suffocate Central Catholic’s offense in the third quarter, allowing just three points.

Meanwhile, the Olympians would put together their best offensive quarter of the night, scoring 17. An offensive rebound and put back by Searfoss with 1:10 to go in the third would give the Olympians a 38-8 advantage, putting the game into the mercy rule.

“It’s just been so fun playing with all these girls this season, and with our seniors. We’ve all worked very hard to bring home this gold,” said Searfoss. “We couldn’t have done this without each other.”

BANGED UP ... The Vikettes came into the game short-handed with their leading scorer Julia Roth, who was forced out after injuring her knee against Lehighton in the district semis. The team’s second leading scorer, Molly Driscoll, played sparingly due to a shoulder injury.

LEADERS ... Hurley led the way for Jim Thorpe with 12 points, hitting four three-pointers. Searfoss and Snisky both helped out with 11.

NEXT UP ... Thorpe will take on Freire Charter on Wednesday at home at 7 p.m. Freire Charter is the No. 5 seed out of District 12 and has a record of 7-11 on the season.

CENTRAL CATHOLIC

Brickhouse 1 0-0 2, Egan 0 0-0 0, Hoeing 1 0-0 2, Reed 0 1-2 1, Roth 1 0-0 2, Hagadus 0 0-0 0, I. Martinez 0 0-0 0, Szoke 0 1-2 1, M. Martinez 0 0-0 0, Kofroth 1 0-0 2, Driscoll 0 1-2 1, Wolf 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 4 3-6 11.

JIM THORPE

L. Snisky 5 0-0 11, Cinicola 0 0-0 0, Hartman 0 0-0 0, B. Snisky 0 0-0 0, Ginopolas 0 0-0 0, H. Smelas 0 0-0 0, Wainwright 0 0-0 0, Hurley 4 0-0 12, Searfoss 5 1-3 11, O. Smelas 3 0-0 6, Robinson 0 0-0 0, Yuhas 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 18 1-3 42.

Central Catholic 5 0 3 3 - 11

Jim Thorpe 10 11 17 4 - 42

Three-pointers: Jim Thorpe - Hurley 4, Snisky 1.