This one was a high-wire act.

Nerves and jitters.

Make a mistake and everything can come crashing down.

That’s the type of game that Tamaqua and Panther Valley were playing in Thursday night in Lehighton. A berth in the Schuylkill League playoffs was on the line in a postseason matchup to decide the league’s final Division 1 wildcard spot.

In the end, it was clutch defense and some timely rebounding that forged Tamaqua to a thrilling 39-31 victory before a vocal crowd of over 1,400 people.

The win sends the Blue Raiders into Saturday’s playoff quadrupleheader at Martz Hall where they will meet Division 2 champ Minersville at 3 p.m.

Panther Valley coach Rob Kovac knew coming in that Tamaqua’s size advantage could pose a problem, especially with Morgan Orsulak - his team’s leading rebounder - sidelined with an illness.

In the final minutes of the contest, that proved to the difference.

Tamaqua’s height, along with heady play and hustle from a triumvirate of inside players – Loreli Plasha, Kendle Miller and Leah Black - allowed it to rise up head-and-shoulders over the Panthers.

Plasha picked up two huge offensive rebounds off missed free throws, while Miller found ways to position herself to grab several boards. Meanwhile, Black was clutch, sinking three shots over the final seconds to steady the ship and help seal Panther Valley’s fate.

“Down the stretch they just beat us up on the glass,” Kovac said. “I’m not making excuses, but we were undermanned with Morgan (Orsulak) out and it showed down the stretch.”

Early on, the Panthers were able to counteract the Raiders’ height advantage with some great perimeter shooting.

“We have good shooters and we came out hot,” Kovac said.

That they did.

Panther Valley drilled four triples - two by Kaidence Krapf and one each by Maddison Maynard and Natalie Vermilion - as it jumped out to a 14-3 lead.

The winners started to battle back as jackrabbit guards Sarah Hope and Kolbe Robb lit the fire with their hustle. In the final 42 seconds of the first quarter, Hope and Miller sank a combined five points to close the period. The Raiders then started the second quarter strong, pulling to within 14-13.

The Panthers weren’t waving the white flag yet, however, as Maynard and Vemillion led the way as PV built the lead back to 22-13.

Once again, Tamaqua responded by putting together a run in the final 2:31 of the half to cut the lead 24-22 at the break.

That late surge was ignited by a coaching move by David that saw her put Robb - one of her smallest players at 5-4 - in the post position on offense.

“It was the first time we used that offense this year,” Robb said. “I really liked it. I know when to pass it off… it’s not just about scoring.”

Tamaqua sprung in front on a Lauren Ligenza bucket off a terrific assist from Robb, and another post up move by Ligenza to put Tamaqua ahead for the first time, 27-24, but baskets by Maynard and Krapf helped the Panthers forge a 28-28 tie heading into the final period.

Miller and Black put back misses to take a 32-28 lead to open the final quarter, but Panther Valley turned to its ace, Maynard - playing with four fouls - as she bombed away for a triple cutting the margin to 32-31 with 2:56 to play.

Then the size took over for the Raiders and helped vault them into the Schuylkill League playoffs.

DOWN THE STRETCH ... The Raiders lost Ligenza to an ankle injury with 2:26 remaining in the game. Panther Valley saw Maynard depart with her fifth foul a short time later.

NOTEWORHTY STATS … For Tamaqua, Ligenza had 10 points, Black eight, and Miller added seven points and nine rebounds. Robb chipped in five steals. For Panther Valley, Maynard had 14 points and nine rebounds. Krapf added 11 points.

PANTHER VALLEY

Krapf 4-0-0-11, Kocha 0-0-0-0, Vermillion 2-0-0-6, Maynard 5-2-2-14, Breslin 0-0-0-0, Yurichek 0-0-0-0, McAndrew 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 11-2-2-31.

TAMAQUA

Robb 1-2-8-4, S. Plasha 0-0-0-0, Ligenza 4-2-2-10, Hope 2-2-4-7, L. Plasha 1-1-4-3, Miller 2-2-2-7, Black 1-6-10-8. TOTALS: 11-15-30-39.

Panther Valley 14 10 4 3 - 31

Tamaqua 8 14 6 11 - 39

Three-pointers: PV- Krapf 3, Vermillion 2, Maynard 2; T- Hope 1, Miller 1.