SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — Laura Bisco was in fourth grade in 2008.
Her sister Megan was in second grade.
And the Mahanoy Area girls’ basketball team made the District 11 Class A playoffs — the program’s most recent trip to the postseason.
Laura and Megan Bisco helped Mahanoy take one step closer to returning to the playoffs Thursday with a 45-34 win over Schuylkill Haven in a Schuylkill League Division II-III crossover game.
The Golden Bears (10-9, 4-7 D-III) need just one more victory to qualify for the District 11 Class A playoffs, quite a feat considering the seven-year drought and its many low points.
“I can’t even describe it,” said Laura, who wasn’t even playing organized basketball in 2008. “The way our program has been, it’s been hard to think that we could be here. But these past two years, especially this one, it really changed.”
Thursday’s win over Schuylkill Haven (6-13, 2-9 D-II) was a must, but it wasn’t always a certainty.
Mahanoy started the first quarter shooting 0-for-8 from the field and trailed the Hurricanes 8-0. Megan Bisco’s 3 from the right point at 1:03 left in the quarter were the Bears’ first points.
“(We) were getting good shots though. We didn’t panic,” Mahanoy Area coach Tom Scheeler said. “We talked at the end of the quarter, we’re getting good shots, we’re getting what we want. I knew they’d fall eventually. I was hoping, at least.”
Laura Bisco started the second quarter by getting her own rebound, putting it back and sinking a foul shot to give Mahanoy Area a spark and cut the deficit to four.
“We had to keep shooting or obviously nothing would go in,” Laura said. “We needed to get to districts. We want to. So our drive just kept us going.”
Megan then hit back-to-back baskets to tie the game at 10. Laura put the Golden Bears ahead 13-12 a minute later and they never again lost the lead as they outscored the Hurricanes 22-10 in the second quarter.
Megan Bisco finished with a game-high 16 points. Laura added 11.
Alyssa Gerber and Keegan White both had 11 to lead Schuylkill Haven.
The Hurricanes clawed back within 31-27 at the end of the third quarter, but Mahanoy opened the fourth with a nine-point run to pull back ahead 40-27.
The win certainly satisfied Scheeler, who saw his team play well at times against Tri-Valley and Marian recently, but ultimately fall short in the final stretch.
“Against Tri-Valley, against Marian, we played a good half. But we had to put in a full game,” Scheeler said. “I liked the second half against Tri-Valley and the first half against Marian, but then we got sloppy.
“Tonight, we limited our turnovers, probably our best game turnover-wise. Our passes were on the money. We talked about coming off the screen, get the ball where people should catch it, ready to drive or shoot. I think we did that well.”
The turnaround the Golden Bears have seen is a very realistic goal for the Hurricanes in the next couple years.
Both programs encompass small schools and both now have young talent.
The Hurricanes honored their two seniors — Emma Schweigert and White — Thursday, but started three sophomores — Gerber, Sarah Donati and Amanda Farr.
Though Mahanoy Area’s youth have made more of an immediate impact, Haven has improved tremendously from its team a season ago.
“One of the things you have to credit is their coach,” Schuylkill Haven coach Nick Reichert said. “(Scheeler) is an outstanding coach who has an old-school philosophy of coaching: run your sets, run your offense through until you get the look you want. Defensively, over-play out in the perimeter, force teams out of their offense.
“...The way they do things is how you play basketball.”
When Mahanoy Area last made the district playoffs, it was the No. 3 seed. The Bears beat Lehigh Valley Christian 65-36 in the quarterfinals before falling to No. 2 Nativity 45-20.
Remaining on Mahanoy Area’s schedule is Shenandoah Valley, Nativity and Pius X. But Scheeler has none of those games are pegged as sure wins or sure losses.
“We’re looking at it like we want to win each one,” he said.
Game Summary
MAHANOY AREA (45) — M. Babinsky 1 2-4 4, Byrne 3 0-0 6, Van Horn 2 0-0 4, L. Bisco 4 3-5 11, Conroy 1 0-0 2, M. Bisco 5 5-6 16, Davidson 0 2-2 2. Totals 16 12-17 45.
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN (34) — Gerber 5 1-2 11, Donati 3 0-0 6, Farr 0 2-2 2, White 3 5-6 11, E. Schweigert 2 0-0 4. Totals 13 8-10 34.
MA (10-9, 4-7) 3 22 6 14 — 45 SH (6-13, 2-9) 10 10 7 7 — 34
3-point FGs: M. Bisco
JV score: No game