The Northwestern and Tamaqua girls will meet this afternoon in the District 11 Class 4A consolation game.

Up for grabs is a berth in the upcoming state playoffs.

Girls Class 4A Consolation

No. 3 Tamaqua (20-4) vs. No. 4 Northwestern (20-4)

TIP-OFF

- Saturday, March 2 at Lehighton, 1 p.m.

COACHES

- Tamaqua: Erika Davis; Northwestern: Chris Deutsch.

LEADING SCORERS

- Tamaqua: Emma Kuczynski (20.92 points per game), Emily Titus (9.42), Jamie Zuber (6.46), Jen Frederickson (5.96); Northwestern: Emily Sekerak (10.92), Sage Christopher (10.88), Sydney Sevrain (10.60), Alexandra Lister (6.8).

GAME NOTES

- The winner of this contest will move into the PIAA state playoffs next weekend. The loser, however, will be eliminated from postseason play … Both programs fell a victory short of the district title game with setbacks in the semifinals. The Blue Raiders dropped a 42-27 decision to Schuylkill League champion Jim Thorpe. The Tigers fell victim to Bethlehem Catholic (53-28) … This is the second straight year the Blue Raiders and Tigers will meet in the playoffs. A year ago, the No. 7 seeded Blue Raiders stunned second-seeded Northwestern in the quarterfinals, 58-31 … Chris Deutsch, the Tigers’ veteran head coach, remembers it all too well. “Last year, they were the team that knocked us out of the district playoffs, and they’ve got almost everyone back. So we know this is going to be a tough game. Every team you play now is really good. So, you’ve got to be ready to play.” … Blue Raiders coach Erika Davis has fond memories of that victory. “I think last year with a 12-10 record we snuck up on Northwestern Lehigh and just happened to put a solid four quarters together and played our best game from start to finish to beat them. It was exciting and something for us to build off of. But, this year, we are both 20-win teams and it will be a good matchup. I have a lot of respect for Coach Deutsch and his program and know that he will have his team ready to compete.” … As far as common opponents, the two programs have both defeated Catasauqua, Lehighton and Moravian Academy. The Blue Raiders downed Catty (61-10 on opening night) and Moravian Academy (63-42) in non-leage games, and grabbed a pair of wins against Schuylkill League foe Lehighton (51-33, 51-22). The Tigers scored a non-league against Lehighton (41-30), and were 2-0 against both Colonial League opponents, Catty (57-26, 64-25) and Moravian (56-41, 61-29).

QUOTABLE

- “Our girls know this game is big and that if we win, we are in. We aren’t ready for this season to end yet, and would love to take it a step further than last year to make it to states and gain that experience, especially with having no seniors on our team.” – Tamaqua head coach Erika Barron.

“We’re given a second chance here. Win, you get to the state playoffs. If not, your season is over. So, there’s a lot riding on this game. And, this will be a great opportunity. This would be the first time in over 10 years that we would make the state playoffs ... which is very remarkable considering the young team we have. We only start one senior. These girls are getting valuable experience right now.” – Northwestern head coach Chris Deutsch.