As Jim Thorpe closes in on reaching their goal of qualifying for districts, players and coaches alike are aware of not taking any opponent lightly. With two victories needed, the Lady Olympians faced off against Weatherly, a non-league opponent, yet a worthwhile foe, as the Lady Wreckers entered with a 6-4 record.

Thanks to a quick start and mismatch troubles, size-wise, Thorpe jumped out to an early lead and eventually took the 60-32 win.With the Lady Wreckers' tallest player barely clearing 5-10, their defensive aggression and non-stop desire and hustle caused problems for the taller, more deliberate Olympians. Also, even though the winners' lead was steadily maintained, Jim Thorpe head coach Rob Kovac kept his usual rotation in until quite late in the contest, to hold off any potential comebacks."We didn't do a really good job of finishing today," coach Kovac said. "But give (Weatherly) credit. They're really pesky around the basket, and they get their hands on a lot of balls, defensively."In a game that saw both teams commit 28 turnovers, the first half proved to be the difference, as the hosts moved out to a 19-2 lead after one and 34-7 at the intermission.From that point on, the Lady Wreckers actually stayed with the Olympians and in the second half, Jim Thorpe outscored them 26-25."Today, I thought (Weatherly) came out strong with the pressure and really made us work to get the ball up the court," sophomore Payton Kovac admitted. "It was a good thing that I was able to get into a rhythm early, and others on the team, as well. Because they made it tough for Kayley to get her shots off today."With the Wreckers keying their defense on the high-scoring sister of Payton, Kayley Kovac, the supporting cast needed to step up and make some plays early to get that quick momentum. In fact, Payton's eight first-frame points led the way."After I made my first one, I got the confidence to keep shooting and I wasn't as tentative, which really helped out," she added.In fact, that supporting cast continued to step up in the second frame, as Kayley was held to eight points in the first half. Six different players scored in the second session for the winners, including five points from freshman Natalia Richards, who hit a triple at the buzzer for the 34-7 lead at the break."In the first half, they dominated us inside, and we had a tough time making our shots," Weatherly head coach Kevin Kringe mentioned. "Then, if we can't score, then we can't press and that's a big part of our game. So in that first half, it kind of snowballed against us."The Lady Wreckers came out of the locker room with a 6-3 run, but the Olympians, led by Kayley Kovac, outscored their opponent, 14-7 the rest of the way for a 51-20 lead after three. Kovac hit for 12 in the session.In the fourth, Kringe's squad continued their hustle and outscored Thorpe 12-9, as both freshman Emily Zoscin and Shelby Berger notched four apiece.In the JV contest, Jim Thorpe held on for the 46-39 preliminary win, as Natalia Richards and Sarah Gabel both notched 17 points for the winners, while Lyndsey Hoffman scored 11 in the losing effort for Weatherly.OFF THE GLASS ... The overwhelming height advantage of the Lady Olympians proved to be crucial to the outcome, as they maintained a 51-39 advantage in the rebound department.WHO IS NEXT? ... Both Jim Thorpe and Weatherly have difficult road tests next up on their schedules, as the Olympians travel to Pottsville tonight, while Weatherly heads to Minersville. "We'll compete against the best and see where the chips fall," Kringe commented. "Pottsville might be the most talented team in Division one," coach Kovac said. "That will be a monumental task."WEATHERLYZoscin 3-4-11-10, Hoffman 1-0-0-2, Caravella 0-0-0-0, DeSpirito 0-0-0-0, Gower 1-0-0-2, Berger 2-2-2-6, Hartz 1-0-0-2, Gillot 1-2-2-4, Peifer 3-0-2-6. TOTALS: 12-8-17-32.JIM THORPERichards 2-0-1-5, P. Kovac 2-5-6-11, Behan 0-0-0-0, Condly 0-0-0-0, Ohl 1-0-1-2, K. Kovac 7-11-16-25, Cressman 3-1-2-7, Waselus 2-2-4-6, Lignore 2-0-0-4, Fasolino 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 19-19-30-60.Weatherly 2 5 13 12 - 32Jim Thorpe 19 15 17 9 - 60Three pointers: W - none; JT - P. Kovac 2, Richards 1.