As Leah Uyvari buried a three, she tumbled to the floor.

Uyvari got up and calmly knocked down a free throw to complete the four-point play with three minutes left in Lehighton’s game against East Stroudsburg South Friday night.

It gave the Tribe a lead they would never relinquish in a 47-45 victory over the Cavaliers in the semifinals of the Lady Indian Holiday Classic.

But it did more than that. It showed the spirit of a team that won’t quit.

“The team has a fight,” said Uyvari. “We don’t give up. No matter what the deficit is, we’ll always try to come back. Whether we can or can’t we’ll always keep fighting.”

The Cavaliers led throughout Friday’s game. But the Indians never went away.

Lehighton took its first lead at 37-36 on a three from Morgan Costenbader with 4:32 left in the fourth quarter. The Indians trailed 41-38 when Uyvari was knocked down an a three and added a free throw.

It was a moment that not only gave the Tribe the lead. It also gave them a spark.

“I wasn’t hitting my shots all night, and then to hit that shot, it felt really good,” Uyvari said.”I felt like that brought the team a lot of energy.”

East Stroudsburg South stayed within striking distance and made it 45-44 with 59.2 left. But junior Ryleigh Trotman added a basket to make it 47-44 with under 30 seconds to play.

A free throw from Johanna Zearfoss cut the Cavaliers’ deficit to two with 22.3 left. East Stroudsburg South had one final chance after a timeout with 3.9 to play.

The Cavaliers got behind the Indians’ defense on a long inbound play from under their own basket but were unable to get the shot to fall as time expired.

“We’re still so very green and trying to adjust during the game, but credit to the girls and the fact that they keep working hard,” said Lehighton head coach Nadia Gauronsky. “They really do keep fighting.”

East Stroudsburg South seemed to take command early, jumping out to a 13-2 lead in the first quarter. The Cavaliers led 15-8 after the first period, and held a 24-16 advantage at halftime.

“They had to dig out of a hole early on,” said Gauronsky. “East Stroudsburg South is very athletic. But they kept digging themselves out of the hole, and credit to them, because they’re showing that fight, and that’s a good thing.

“And we’re asking a lot of Leah right now to handle the basketball, be a court general, and shoot the ball. So that’s a lot, but she’s handling it well, and kudos to her.”

That energy also translated to the defensive end, where the Indians got stops when they needed them.

“Timara (Klotz) does a lot of good things defensively,” Gauronsky said of the senior. “She kind of takes the best player and she did a really nice job with that.”

It’s the type of effort and intensity the Tribe look for in every game. For a young squad that is still finding its footing, Friday was a big step forward, and the team’s third win in its last four games.

“They’re only going to grow, and they’re only going to get better,” said Gauronsky. “And that’s all that matters. To win a game, and in this environment at home, was nice.”

MOVING ON ... Lehighton will face Whitehall today at 2:30 p.m. in the championship game. The Zephyrs defeated Northern Lehigh 48-41 in the first semifinal Friday. “Whitehall is very very big,” said Gauronsky. “And very athletic. We just have to play as aggressive as we can, take care of the basketball, and continue to limit the mistakes as we go.” East Stroudsburg South will play Northern Lehigh in the consolation game at 1 p.m.

LEADING SCORERS ... Uyvari and Trotman each scored 16 points for Lehighton in the win. Zearfoss led the Cavaliers with 12 points, including seven in the second half, while Marinellys Marte added 10 points.

ES SOUTH

Huntley 2-1-2-5, Rasmussen 0-1-2-1, Zearfoss 5-2-5-12, Woods 2-2-4-6, DeJesus 1-3-4-5, Kershock 1-0-2-2, Marte 4-2-2-10, McAllister 1-1-1-3, Nwigwe 0-1-2-1, Johnson 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 16-13-24-45.

LEHIGHTON

Arzuagu 0-0-2-0, Moyer 0-0-0-0, Reph 1-3-4-5, Klotz 1-0-2-2, Uyvari 4-6-9-16, Trotman 7-2-6-16, Sittler 0-1-2-1, Costenbader 3-0-0-7. TOTALS: 16-12-25-47.

ES South 15 9 11 10 - 45

Lehighton 8 8 14 17 - 47

Three-pointers: ES South - None. Lehighton - Uyvari 2, Costenbader 1.

Records: ES South (0-9); Lehighton (3-5)