It’s hard to beat a team three times in any competitive sport.

Let alone four times.

Schuylkill League Division 1 foes, Jim Thorpe and North Schuylkill faced off for the fourth time this season on Wednesday night in the District 11 4A semifinals.

The Olympians answered the above question with a resounding yes.

Jim Thorpe dominated from the opening tap, jumping out to a 19-0 lead and rolling to a 63-42 victory.

Skyler Searfoss got the opening barrage started, scoring the first seven points of the game for No. 1 seed Jim Thorpe (24-1). Two triples from Leila Hurley, two buckets from Olivia Smelas and another deuce from Searfoss blew the game wide open early.

The No. 4 seed Spartans (21-5) didn’t get their first bucket until 1:48 left in the first quarter on a lay up from Maddy Wetzel.

“I feel like we were very prepared coming in, and that’s a credit to our reserves, who all week worked hard and helped prep us at practice,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Nadia Gauronsky. “It was a priority for us to come out and execute effectively early, so there was going to be no doubt of which team was going to come away with the victory.

“I thought we also did a good job defensively. We were in the right positions, and the girls’ communication on that end was great as well.”

North Schuylkill did finish the first on a 9–1 run to close within 11 at the end of the quarter to build a little momentum, but the Olympians opened the second frame on a 6-0 run to halt any Spartans’ comeback thoughts. Six from Searfoss, and five from Hurley helped Thorpe stretch the lead to 35-15 at the halfway mark.

“The buzz all week, or what we kept hearing, was that it was going to be really tough to beat a team four times,” said Hurley. “We know North Schuylkill is a good team and a tough opponent, so we knew we needed to jump on them early,

“We did a good job of sharing the ball, and working hard on the defensive end to get off to the good start.”

Again, the Spartans generated a bit of momentum to start the third, scoring the first seven points of the quarter to close within 35-22. But as they did throughout the night, the Olympians shut the door. A three by Hurley from the left wing put the lead back at 15 as Thorpe ended the stanza on a 12-5 run to carry a 47-27 lead into the fourth.

The Olympians would eventually extend its lead to 26 - their largest of the game - late in the fourth quarter and qualify for their fourth consecutive District 11 championship game.

FAMILIAR FOES

... Since the 2019-20 season, Jim Thorpe and North Schuylkill have faced each other 10 times between regular season and postseason play. The Olympians lead the ultracompetitive series, 6-4.

LEADERS

... Searfoss and Hurley led the way for Jim Thorpe with 18 points apiece. Smelas added 13 and Leah Snisky chipped in with 10. Kamryn Mengel scored a game-high 23 for North Schuylkill.

NEXT UP.

.. The Olympians will be looking for redemption as they will face off with No. 2 seed Allentown Central Catholic at Martz Hall on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in the District final. The Vikettes defeated Thorpe in last year’s district title game.

NORTH SCHUYLKILL

Burke 1 0-0 3, Himes 0 0-0 0, Conti 0 0-0 0, Gawrylik 3 1-2 7, Mengel 8 5-5 23, Wetzel 3 0-0 6, Hall 1 0-0 3, Koutch 0 0-0 0, Lucas 0 0-0 0, Felty 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 16 6-7 42.

JIM THORPE

L. Snisky 4 2-2 10, H. Smelas 0 0-0 0, Cinicola 0 0-0 0, Hartman 0 0-0 0, B. Snisky 0 0-0 0, Hurley 5 4-4 18, Searfoss 6 5-6 18, O. Smelas 6 1-2 13, Yuhas 1 2-2 4. TOTALS: 22 14-16 63.

North Schuylkill 9 6 12 15 - 42

Jim Thorpe 20 15 12 16 - 63

Three-pointers: Jim Thorpe - Hurley 4, Searfoss 1; No. Schuylkill - Mengel 2, Hall 1, Burke 1.