The Palmerton girls basketball team has a championship pedigree.

And a championship mentality.

The Blue Bombers are out to defend last year’s District 11 title.

And the top seed in the Class 3A bracket is off to a strong start.

Palmerton punched its ticket to the finals with a 48-35 victory over Pine Grove on Tuesday, showcasing the type of toughness it takes to succeed on the season’s biggest stage.

“It just shows how much of a team effort it is to get a win,” said Bethie Morgan, who scored a game-high 23 points. “Shots weren’t dropping ... so we just had to find other ways to score, and that meant counting on other girls to get open shots. We really had to rely on our post players to be picking up those extra points from that shots that weren’t falling outside. So it was just a total team win.

The Blue Bombers (21-4) extended possessions with rebounds, and came up with big stops on defense and big shots on offense when they needed them.

“I think what did it for us there was our defense,” said Palmerton head coach Dan Beck. “Megan (Matsko) really stepped up defensively; everybody did. We held their big scorers down, and that’s what we were looking for. And we did a good job offensively, too. Some shots weren’t going in for a couple of girls, but they were playing hard defense.

“The kids don’t like to lose. They’re very competitive, and they’re very athletic. They’re a good group. And the JVs are doing a great job with helping them prepare. There’s a good group of JV players that are making them better and preparing them for the games.”

Matsko was active on both ends of the floor, posting 10 points with nine rebounds, five assists, two blocks and one steal.

“That’s what you have to love about our team. No matter where we fall short, we always find a way to pick it up, we always find a way to pick each other up,” said Matsko. “We’re always picking each other up; we don’t rely on just one person to carry the game on their shoulders. That really helps us mesh together, and we have great chemistry, and I think that contributes to almost all of our wins.”

The Bombers’ defense held Pine Grove (13-11) leading scorer Kailen Felty - who was averaging 11.4 points per game entering the contest ­ to three points, while Kyla Koons ­ - who averaged 7.2 ppg. and led the team with 47 three-pointers- to just one trey and three points.

“I think our defense really leads into our offense,” said Morgan. “We were getting stops down low; we were stopping 12 (Felty) from driving, and that’s what we really worked on in practice. But just making smart passes, and we weren’t really forcing shots. If we saw an open lane we took it, and then dished to the open girl. So just not forcing the ball really helped.”

Junior Marissa Stewart led the fourth-seeded Cardinals with 11 points. Stewart hit back-to-back shots midway through the third quarter to give Pine Grove its first lead of the contest at 25-23.

But Palmerton responded with a 14-0 run, which started when Matsko converted a three-point play after pulling down a rebound to make it 26-25 with 2:39 left in the third quarter.

The Cardinals didn’t stop the run until Stewart converted a basket with 4:25 left in the final quarter to trim the deficit to 37-27.

“All season, our coaches have been hammering us with boxing out and getting offensive rebounds,” said Morgan. “So tonight, seeing it finally click, Megan Matsko, Kelsey (Balliet) and Courtney Connell did amazing down there. They really stepped up big for us. It makes me really proud of them to see their hard work pay off.”

Pine Grove made it a five-point game when Stewart scored her final basket with 2:18 remaining to bring the score to 38-33. But a 10-2 run by the Bombers down the stretch sealed the win and a spot in the finals.

STAT SHEET

... Morgan added eight rebounds (six defensive), four assists and two steals, while Hannah Barry finished with six points and six rebounds.

UP NEXT

... Palmerton will face No. 3 Pen Argyl Friday in the championship game. The Bombers topped the Green Knights 68-67 in triple overtime in the Colonial League semis on Feb. 14. Pen Argyl knocked off No. 2 seed Notre Dame Green Pond 50-42 in the other semifinal Tuesday.

PINE GROVE

Koons 1-0-0-3, Felty 1-1-2-3, Leffler 1-0-0-2, Zimmerman 2-0-0-5, Becher 1-0-0-3, Leininger 0-0-0-0, Schneck-Haines 3-2-4-8, Schaeffer 0-0-0-0, Stewart 5-0-2-11. TOTALS: 14-3-8-35.

PALMERTON

Baumgardt 0-0-0-0, Frantz 2-0-0-5, Han. Barry 1-4-4-6, Matsko 3-4-9-10, Balliet 1-0-2-2, B. Morgan 6-10-16-23, Connell 1-0-0-2, Hai. Barry 0-0-0-0, C. Morgan 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 14-18-31-48.

Pine Grove 6 10 9 10 - 35

Palmerton 13 7 13 15 - 48

Three-pointers: Pine Grove - Stewart 1, Becher 1, Zimmerman 1, Koons 1. Palmerton - B. Morgan 1, Frantz 1.