ALLENTOWN — Weatherly had a long layoff waiting to play in the district playoffs.

Unfortunately for the Wreckers, the layoff lasted 16 minutes longer than expected.

A sluggish first half doomed Jason Kane’s club, and the end result Wednesday was a 47-21 loss to Bethlehem Christian in the Class 1A semifinals.

“I think the layoff hurt us, because that first half we couldn’t find our groove,” said the Weatherly head coach, whose team ended their season with a 4-19 record. “It was like we never played basketball. It’s hard to mimic (game action) at practice. I think it really hurt us in the first half.

“We just didn’t have a good night. We turned the ball over way too many times. I don’t like layoffs that long. We had all those games there (five games in an 11-day stretch) and we were in a groove. Young kids, when they have a layoff like this, I think it hurts more than it helps. We were doing pretty good with those game. We lost a few, but won a few.”

The Wreckers couldn’t get much going in those first two quarters, turning the ball over more times (19) than they took shots (15). And of those shots, they managed to hit just twice.

That allowed the top-seeded Panthers to gain a sizable lead.

Abby Wilson scored five points, and Giana Kasper added a three-pointer, during an 11-0 run that gave Bethlehem Christian a 20-4 halftime advantage.

“From the beginning we were focused, and we took care of what we were supposed to do,” said Panther mentor Greg Duff, whose team will now meet Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg in Saturday’s title game.

“I know we (beat them) by 28 earlier (this season), but we had a week-and-a-half to practice and every day I’ve said, ‘They want to win too, and they’re practicing right now.’ Sometimes you play a team during the regular season and if they have players hurt, and if they get it together at the right time (you never know) ... so I just try to keep our girls really humble even though we won by a lot (the first time).”

Bethlehem Christian looked like it was well on its way to another 28-margin, or maybe even a mercy rule win, but the Wreckers still had one last charge left in their season.

With the Panthers on top 36-12 late in the third quarter, Kelly Reiner drained a three-pointer that started a 9-0 run. When Reiner hit another trey with 5:18 left to play, Weatherly had pulled within 15 points.

That, however, was as close as the Wreckers would come as Reiner was hit with her fifth foul, and the team’s leading scorer was forced to exit the game.

Bethlehem didn’t allow another point the rest of the way, and put up 11 more points to clinch its berth in the title game, as well as a spot in the state playoffs.

“We were on a good run there,” said Kane. “We came back and hit a few big shots. And then unfortunately Kelly fouled out and that broke the momentum.”

“I really have respect for Weatherly, especially (Reiner),” added Duff. “She brings it. We absolutely wanted to key on her. ... We took off the full-court press, but then I put it back on (when they rallied). I called a timeout and said, ‘I don’t want this to get closer.’”

KEY STATS ... Reiner finished with 19 of her team’s 21 points. Kasper topped the Panthers with 20 points, while Wilson added 15. Turnovers were costly for the Wreckers, who ended the evening with 41. “We just turned the ball over way too much,” said Kane. “That was the name of the game. We just couldn’t pass and couldn’t catch.”

TN TIES ... Bethlehem Christian’s Duff has ties to the Times News area, playing his ball at Pleasant Valley. He also was a Bears’ assistant in both the boys and girls programs.

WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR ... Weatherly’s starting five returns, plus Kane is expecting to get some help. “Almost all (our players) are coming back, and we have some athletic eighth-graders coming up. I think next year will be a good group.”

WEATHERLY

Marasco 0-0-0-0, Russell 0-0-0-0, Rhodes 0-0-0-0, Reiner 7-1-2-19, Weston 0-0-2-0, Binder 0-0-0-0, Snyder 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 8-1-4-21.

BETHLEHEM CHRISTIAN

Kreidler 1-1-2-3, Kasper 8-2-4-20, Khachadourian 1-2-4-4, Wilson 5-2-2-15, Cornelius 1-1-4-3, DeBoer 0-0-0-0, Arzuaga 0-0-0-0, Merisca 1-0-2-2. TOTALS: 17-8-18-47.

Weatherly 4 0 11 6 - 21

Bethlehem Chr. 12 8 16 11 - 47

Three-pointers: Weatherly - Reiner 4; Bethlehem Christian - Wilson 3, Kasper 2.

Records: Weatherly (4-19); Bethlehem Christian (15-6).