FOUNTAIN SPRINGS - Pace, pace, pace.

That’s what North Schuylkill girls’ basketball team wanted to establish against Jim Thorpe on Thursday in its biggest Schuylkill League Division I game of the season.

Spartan coach Rich Wetzel knew it was going to come down to his team setting the tempo, forcing the Thorpe ‘bigs’ to get up and down the court, and getting a very talented Olympian team out of rhythm.

North Schuylkill got exactly what it wanted and pulled out the victory, defeating a Jim Thorpe team that entered the game undefeated in league play, 56-53.

The result sets up the possibility for a one-game playoff to determine the divisional champion, which is tentatively slated for Monday, Feb. 22.

Before either team gets that far, however, there is still some business to handle. Thorpe is now 11-1 in the league with two games remaining, while North Schuylkill is 10-1 in league play with three games to play.

The Spartans’ game plan worked to perfection early as they held an 11-point second-half lead when Kamryn Mengel scored at the 5:21 mark of the third period.

But Jim Thorpe dug deep and staged a rally that came blowing in faster than a winter snowstorm.

“No matter how much we are down, these kids continue to push, and that’s a credit to their desire,” said Jim Thorpe coach Nada Gauronsky.

Haley Smelas pumped in five points, Olivia Smelas posted inside for a bucket, Leah Snisky scored from the paint, and superb point guard Skyler Searfoss drove the lane for two, cutting a once double-digit Spartan lead to 45-43 with an entire quarter to play.

“In the back of my head, I was worried about them shooting three-pointers because that’s how they beat us the first time we played,” said Wetzel. “But tonight they got back in the game because we hurt ourselves with turnovers. We started to get out of sync, got a little bit crazy.”

The Olympians finally caught up thanks to Haley Smelas’ bucket on a superb assist by Mackenzie Yuhas.

When Leila Hurley raced down the floor for a transition basket, suddenly Thorpe was riding the crest of momentum and went in front 49-47 with 3:57 to play.

“We got that lead, and I thought if we could get a stop at the other end, we had everything going our way at that point in the game,” Gauronsky said.

But the Olympians couldn’t maintain their momentum, as they got fidgety with the ball in committing five turnovers over the final three-plus minutes of play.

Meanwhile, the Spartans steadied the ship as unsung hero Katelynn Himes sank two crucial foul shots to tie the game. Savannah Gawrylik followed with a basket, and when Mya Wetzel came to the fore with a put back bucket and a foul conversion, it was a 54-51 North Schuylkill lead with 1:22 to play.

“We weren’t out of it at that point,” Gauronsky said. “We forced a turnover and failed to convert, and then we got them to turn it over again, but we gave it right back.”

Snisky put a charge back into Thorpe with a huge basket with 1:03 left to make it 54-53. When Oliva Smelas posted up inside for what seemed to be the go-ahead basket, she was called for a charge, which tilted things back to North Schuylkill’s corner.

Sarah Wagner, who was nothing short of sensational for her team, sank one free throw and Wetzel put the topper on the cake with a foul conversion at five seconds.

RECORDS ... Jim Thorpe falls to 13-4 overall, while the Spartans move to 12-2.

NUMBERS … Searfoss topped Thorpe with 15 points. Hurley and Haley Smelas both added 11. For the Spartans, Wagner’s 15 led the way.

Oliva Smelas had 12 rebounds for Thorpe, while Mengel’s 10 boards led North Schuylkill. Thorpe committed 25 turnovers - nine in the final quarter. North Schuylkill had 22.

PRELIM … North Schuylkill claimed the opener 50-35. Thorpe was led by Hartman with nine points.

JIM THORPE

Searfoss 4-7-10-15, H. Smelas 4-3-3-11, Hurley 3-4-4-11, Snisky 3-1-2-7, O. Smelas 3-1-2-7, Yuhas 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 18-16-21-53.

NORTH SCHUYLKILL

Wagner 6-3-6-15, Mengel 5-2-4-13, Himes 2-4-4-10, Gawrylik 3-0-0-7, Mad. Wetzel 2-2-4-6, Mya Wetzel 2-0-0-6, Mogish 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 20-11-20-56.

Jim Thorpe 18 10 15 10 - 53

N. Schuylkill 19 17 9 11 - 56

Three-pointers: Jim Thorpe - Hurley 1; North Schuylkill - Himes 2, Mya Wetzel 2, Gawrylik 1.