Jim Thorpe got off to a bit of a slow start this season.

The Olympians, who opened 2-2 and have aspirations to get back to a third consecutive Schuylkill and District 11 championship game, seem to be hitting their stride now.

Thorpe, which started fast in its match-up on Monday, got out to a lead early and never looked back, defeating fellow Schuylkill League squad Tamaqua 56-33 to earn its six straight victory and stay atop the Division 1 standings.

“This is an experienced team, so they know what we have to do night in and night out to come away with wins,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Nadia Gauronsky. “A few times this season, we’ve come out flat or we’ve kind of gone through the motions in the beginning of games, but that’s definitely changing, and we’ve been able to get out to some better starts.

“You have to come out and play with fire in the beginning of a game and as of late, we’ve been accomplishing that.”

The start of each quarter belonged to the Olympians (8-2). In the first, Thorpe went on a 9-0 run; in the second, a 13-0 run; and in the third, a 6-0 run.

However, the Raiders did have a bright spot in the game. After being down 17-3 late in the first quarter, Tamaqua (6-3) went on a run of its own – 9-0 – that brought it within five.

“I like the way we battled in the first after they got out to that big lead and credit to Jim Thorpe. They are a top notch team with a lot of weapons,” said Tamaqua head coach Erika Davis. “You can’t come out of the gates like we did; you can’t afford to start slow against a team like this. We have to come ready to work at practice tomorrow and get better.”

After the Raiders’ surge at the end of the first, Thorpe looked determined to gain back its momentum. The Olympians outscored the Raiders 15-2 in the second quarter to lead by 18 at the half. Leila Hurley (11), Skyler Searfoss (10) and Leah Snisky (7) combined for 28 points in the half as Thorpe pulled away.

Tamaqua wouldn’t get closer than 17 the rest of the way.

LEADERS

… Hurley led Thorpe with 17, while Searfoss added 14, Snisky helped out with 13 and Olivia Smelas chipped in with eight. For Tamaqua, McKenna Meckes and Trenyce Wingler each had nine.

STINGY

… The Olympians forced 17 turnovers and, during its big 15-2 second-quarter run, held the Raiders to just 1-of-10 shooting. Smelas was big on the defensive end, collecting five blocks.

JIM THORPE

Cinicola 0-0-0-0, Hartman 1-0-0-2, Snisky 6-0-0-13, Ginopolas 0-0-0-0, Hurley 5-6-8-17, Seafoss 5-4-4-14, O. Smelas 4-0-3-8, Robinson 0-0-0-0, Fiorito 0-0-0-0, H. Smelas 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 22-10-15-56.

TAMAQUA

Streisel 0-0-0-0, Kane 0-0-0-0, S. Hope, S. 0-0-0-0, Jones 2-2-4-6, Meckes 3-2-2-9, Boyle 0-2-6-2, Wingler 4-0-0-9, E. Hope 3-1-2-7. TOTALS: 12-7-14-33.

Tamaqua 12 2 6 13 - 33

Jim Thorpe 17 15 14 10 - 56

Three-pointers: JT - Snisky 1, Hurley 1; Tamaqua - Wingler 1, T. Meckes 1.