BERWICK - Destiny - a predetermined course of events thanks to an inevitable or irresistible force.

The Jim Thorpe 2021-22 girls’ basketball squad, with all of its talent returning, certainly appeared destined to compete for championships this season.

The Olympians (28-1), who have already captured a Schuylkill League and District 11 title this season, will continue their conquest toward Hershey in search of state gold after a thrilling 40-39 victory over District 2 champion Dunmore in the PIAA 4A quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Jim Thorpe was able to secure the narrow win because of a last-second score from senior do-it-all point guard Skyler Searfoss.

Thorpe’s road to destiny has now taken them to the final four of the state tournament for the first time in the history of the girls’ program.

“I really have to give the girls credit. I’m so proud of them. They came out and changed the dynamic in this game when we got down early,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Nadia Gauronsky. “It just shows the senior and veteran leadership of this team to be able to come back like that, and then Skyler, she wanted the ball in her hands at the end of the game. What more can you say about her?”

Early on, it looked as if the Olympians fate would be decided rather quickly as the Bucks jumped out to a 15-2 lead.

Thorpe committed four turnovers in the first quarter as Dunmore looked poised and prepared, playing aggressive man-to-man defense, concentrating on denying entry to Olympians’ post players Olivia Smelas and Leah Snisky. Pair those offensive struggles with Smelas picking up three early fouls, and it didn’t look promising for Jim Thorpe.

Dunmore continued its strong defensive effort for the rest of the first half as it carried a stunning 25-11 lead into the break behind freshman Sophia Talutto’s eight points.

The Olympians offensive struggles continued during that span without Smelas in the low post.

“We went into the half, and you could see the girls were disappointed and dejected a bit. But we knew we were going to get Olivia back in the second half, and we kind of challenged them to come out and get back into the game,” said Gauronsky. “We didn’t move enough offensively in the first half, so we also stressed that, as well as trying to establish our post offense early in the third.”

Thorpe showed its will to win right from the start in the third, going on a 9-0 run with Smelas making an immediate impact, scoring back-to-back buckets in the post after a Mackenzie Yuhas deuce to start the run. A Leila Hurley triple from the right wing at the 5:36 mark concluded the surge as the Olympians showed that they were not going to go away quietly into the night.

But with their lead cut to 25-20, the Bucks answered as they stretched their advantage back to double digits.

A huge three from Leah Snisky late in the quarter kept Thorpe within striking distance, as it would eventually trail by eight heading into the fourth quarter.

“We always want to play with that junkyard dog mentality, and just make it tough for teams on both ends of the floor,” said Snisky. “We came out in the second half, and we brought that mentality with us, and we were able to fight back.”

The Olympians once again cut the lead to five after a Smelas inside bucket, and another big three-pointer from Snisky at the 6:10 mark of the fourth. Dunmore’s Moriah Murray scored to get the advantage back to seven, but a 6-0 run midway through the frame for Thorpe cut the deficit to 37-36.

Murray and Smelas would exchange buckets to keep the Dunmore lead at one with less than a minute remaining.

Forced to foul, the Olympians put the Drexel commit Murray at the line for a 1-and-1 opportunity with just over 30 seconds left. Murray missed the front end of the 1-and-1, but was able to get her own rebound and was once again fouled, sending her right back to the charity stripe. Once again she was off the mark, however, and Snisky rebounded the miss for Jim Thorpe.

The Olympians patiently worked the ball around looking for an opening. With the clock running down, Searfoss got the ball on the left baseline, turned hard to the middle, and maneuvered through three Dunmore defenders to knock down the go-ahead basket with 2.3 seconds remaining.

Dunmore called time out, but a late heave from well beyond midcourt from Murray was off the mark as the buzzer sounded.

“My teammates just believed in me, and trusted me to make a play at the end of the game,” said Searfoss. “We’re all just so excited right now. We’ve all wanted this since we were little kids playing together, and now we’re headed to the semifinals.”

WELCOME BACK

... After having to sit for almost the whole first half due to foul trouble, Olivia Smelas came up big in the second half, scoring all of her 12 points.

COMEBACK KIDS

... Trailing by 14 at the half, the Olympians outscored Dunmore 29-14 in the second half, stepping up their defensive effort.

NEXT UP

... Thorpe will take on District 12 champion Archbishop Wood on Saturday at a site and time to be determined for the chance to head to the state championship.

DUNMORE

Murray 4 1-3 10, Talutto 5 2-4 14, Blume 3 0-0 7, Lewis 2 2-2 6, Canavan 1 0-4 2, Pacewicz 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 15 5-13 39.

JIM THORPE

L. Snisky 4 0-0 10, Hurley 2 0-2 5, Searfoss 3 3-3 9, O. Smelas 5 2-3 12, Yuhas 2 0-2 4, H. Smelas 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 16 5-10 40.

Dunmore 16 9 8 6 - 39

Jim Thorpe 6 5 14 15 - 40

Three-pointers: Dunmore - Talutto 2, Murray 1, Blume 1; Jim Thorpe - L. Snisky 2, Hurley 1.