WHITEHALL-Lehighton head coach Eric Gidney was not surprised when he looked at the scorebook Saturday following a 65-41 loss to Southern Lehigh in the District 11 Class AAA quarterfinals.

Gidney was well aware of the Lady Spartans propensity to score in bunches, something they showed throughout a 23-game winning streak that led to a No. 1 seed in the postseason."They've got a dangerous lineup," Gidney said. "We often get asked as coaches, do you want size or speed? They have the luxury of having both. From a match up standpoint, that really challenged us, and it took us a little while to adjust to that."The Lady Indians, who earned the No. 8 seed after posting an 11-11 mark during the regular season, hung tough early and trailed Southern Lehigh 19-9 in the opening minutes of the second quarter.But the Lady Spartans (24-1) found their rhythm and put their foot on the gas shortly thereafter, seizing control with an 18-0 run that pushed the lead to 37-9 with just under two minutes to play in the first half."When we limited them to just one shot each possession, and when we limited them to just half-court opportunities, I think things were equal," Gidney said. "But I think where they got us was in transition and with second chance opportunities."We can't give a team that's ranked 10th in Pennsylvania second and third opportunities to score the basketball."Southern Lehigh's vaunted lineup, which featured three of its five players scoring in double figures during the regular season, lived up to its billing against Lehighton.Leading scorer and freshman wunderkind Olivia Snyder paced a balanced attack for the Lady Spartans, scoring a game-high 18 points. Sydney Cyr tallied 17 points, Amanda Mobley added 11 and Elizabeth Cassel chipped in 10."They're confident," said Southern Lehigh head coach Matt Cooper. "They know that at each level now it's do-or-die, and the teams are just going to continue to get better and better; they're aware of that."Despite trailing 43-16 at the intermission, the Lady Indians never quit and outscored the Lady Spartans 25-22 over the final two quarters.Aubrey Blasiak scored eight of her team-high 15 points over the final 16 minutes. Lehighton's leading scorer during the regular season, Skylynn Faust tallied 14 points while Allie Rossino scored all eight of her points in the second half.Though disappointed with the result, Gidney maintained a positive outlook and hopes his team can use its first district playoff appearance since 2009 as a springboard into next season."This is something to build on. This is something that only two other teams from Lehighton have done since the 1999-00 season," Gidney said. "I told them that we can't hold our heads down walking out of the locker room today. There's no shame in what we accomplished this season."REMATCH …Southern Lehigh will face No. 4 seed Allentown Central Catholic, which posted a 51-27 win over Northwestern Saturday, in the semifinals. The Lady Spartans were victorious in their Dec. 29 meeting, 47-39.STREAKING …Saturday's victory over Lehighton gave Southern Lehigh 24 consecutive victories. The Lady Spartans have not lost since the season opener to Dunmore, 61-44.LEHIGHTONRossino 2-2-2-8, Muffley 1-0-0-2, Whiteman 0-0-0-0, Blasiak 4-3-4-15, Beck 0-0-0-0, Drofich 0-0-0-0, Faust 5-4-5-14, Buchinsky 1-0-0-2, Bollinger 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 13-9-11-41.SOUTHERN LEHIGHJ. Cyr 1-0-0-3, A. Mobley 4-1-1-11, Dex 1-0-0-2, Snyder 6-6-6-18, S. Cyr 4-7-8-17, Cassel 3-4-5-10, Miller 2-0-0-4, B. Mobley 0-0-0-0, Campbell 0-0-0-0, Clemmer 0-0-0-0, Bennett 0-0-0-0, Tankred 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 21-18-20-65.Lehighton 6 10 12 13 - 41So. Lehigh 19 24 14 8 - 65Three-pointers: Lehighton - Blasiak 4, Rossino 2; Southern Lehigh - A. Mobley 2, S. Cyr 2, J. Cyr 1.