HAZLETON - Palmerton knew all about Riverside’s Kylie Lavelle.

The 6-2 Drexell-bound senior didn’t disappoint as she flashed her Division 1 skills early and often, piling up 17 points and 17 rebounds.

But Riverside got by the Bombers because Lavelle got a little help from her friends - make that a lot of help from her friends.

The Vikings placed four players in doubles figures and rolled to a 64-28 victory over Palmerton in the second round of the PIAA Class 3A State Tournament.

“We knew Lavelle was a great player and she showed why, but we didn’t expect the players around her to be as good as they were tonight,” said Palmerton coach Dan Beck. “We watched them on film, and we just didn’t think some of their other players would be this good.

“Film can be deceiving. They were much more impressive in person.”

Among the “friends” that helped Lavelle and the Vikings get by were Kaitlyn Slaboda (18 points, six rebounds, three blocked shots), Lillie Pon (15 points), and Paige Olanovich (10 points). The trio also combined for seven three-pointers.

“We had a couple of other games this season where we’ve had this type of balance, but I would have to say this was our best all-around performance this season,” said Riverside coach Jack Mekilo. “Kylie (Lavelle) is obviously an incredible talent and she does a lot for us. She’s averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds a game, but we knew if we wanted to make a run in the postseason we would need more than just Kylie - and we’re getting that.

“Our other players have just kept getting better and better. We are playing our best basketball of the season right now and that’s exactly what you want to be doing in the playoffs.”

The Bombers were staying within range of the Riverside early on, trailing 21-14 early in the second quarter. But the Vikings reeled of an 18-0 run that started with 6:15 left in the period and didn’t end until Palmerton’s Brianna Moore hit a three-pointer with :22 left. The spurt gave Riverside a commanding 39-17 halftime lead.

“It’s high school basketball and sometimes those things happened,” said Mekilo. “Palmerton is a really good team, and they are well coached, but sometimes things just snowball.

“You hit a few shots and it gets to be contagious. We had a run in that second quarter where it seemed like we weren’t missing and they just couldn’t hit.”

The stats bear that out as Riverside shot 9-for-13 from the field in the quarter, a scalding 69%. That blitz included going 4-for-5 from three-point range. Meanwhile, the Bombers were just 3-for-13 from the field in the quarter (23%).

“They got on that run where they were hitting shots from all over and we kind of panicked a little,” said Beck. “We turned the ball over too much and forced some shots.

“But you have to give Riverside credit. They are a really good team and they created a lot of our problems.”

Palmerton (24-3) was never able to get the deficit under 20 points in the second half and Riverside eventually kicked it into mercy rule on a Slaboda triple that made it 56-25 with 1:11 left in the third.

Beck said that the loss might sting for a while, but it doesn’t take away from a memorable season for the Bombers.

“I told our girls that I’m very proud of what they accomplished,” he said. “We won 24 games, we went undefeated in the Colonial League, and we won a District 11 championship. “They did everything we asked of them. It was a great season.”

NEXT UP ... Riverside (22-4) will face Trinity or Imhotep Chareter in the 3A quarterfinals on Tuesday.

COMPLIMENTS ... The Bombers used a box-in-one on Lavelle, having Moore - also a Division 1 player (heading to Dusquesne for soccer) - watch her. Although Lavelle scored 17 points, Moore made her work hard for them, limiting her 5-for-13 shooting from the floor, before Lavelle hit a couple of fourth quarter layups in transition. After the game, Mekilo called Moore’s work “the best defensive performance anyone has had against Kylie this season.”

TO THREE OR NOT TO THREE ... Riverside started the game 6-for-8 (75%) from three-point range before finishing 7-for-15. Meanwhile, Palmerton went just 2-for-17 (12%) from three-point range.

SAYING GOODBYE ... Moore and Raegan Nemeth are the only two Bomber seniors. They are both four-year starters. “Good kids, good students, good athletes ... they did a lot for our program and will be missed,” said Beck.

PALMERTON

Bollinger 0-0-0-0, Baumgardt 0-0-0-0, Frantz 0-1-2-1, Peterson 0-0-0-0, Barry 0-0-0-0, Matsko 1-1-2-3, Pengelly 0-0-0-0, Balliet 1-0-0-2, Nemeth 2-0-2-4, Andrews 0-0-0-0, Morgan 4-2-2-10, Moore 3-0-0-8. TOTALS: 11-4-8-28.

RIVERSIDE

Antoniacci 2-0-0-4, Bri. Reed 0-0-0-0, Slaboda 7-0-1-18, Olanovich 4-1-2-10, Bra. Reed 0-0-0-0, Lavelle 7-3-6-17, Pon 7-3-5-15, Turner 0-0-0-0, Danilovitz 0-0-0-0, Kostoff 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 25-7-14-64.

Palmerton 8 9 8 3 - 28

Riverside 16 23 17 8 - 64

Three-pointers: Palmerton - Moore 2. Riverside - Slaboda 4, Pon 2, Olanovich 1.