PINE GROVE — Thursday night’s 73-55 Pine Grove victory is the kind of game Lehighton has gotten used to playing over the course of its inaugural year in the Schuylkill League.
“Fun game, physical game, Schuylkill League game,” Indians coach Eric Gidney said.
It’s also the kind of game Pine Grove has become accustomed to winning of late. But go back two months and you might see two very different teams than were on display Thursday.
Pine Grove (11-11, 8-6 D-I) lost two of its talented young players to injury — Steph Boyer and Cierra Geiger — just days into the season. The Cardinals then started 2-8 overall, 0-3 in the division.
Since, they’ve gone 8-3, and Tuesday’s win over Panther Valley assured Pine Grove a District 11 Class AA playoff spot.
“There’s a few games that we left on the table, some battles with Blue Mountain and a couple other teams,” Pine Grove coach Chris George said. “We’re young and hopefully we’ll get better in those tight ones.”
They did Thursday, anyway.
Lehighton jumped out to a 12-10 lead after one quarter, but six points by Morgan Edge and five by Cayleen Conrad put the Cards ahead 29-24 at the half.
Skylynn Faust opened the second half with a 3-pointer for the Indians, cutting their deficit to two points.
Pine Grove answered with a 14-point run that put it ahead 43-27 with 4:40 to play in the third.
Conrad, Morgan Edge and Rachel Edge started the run with baskets before a 3 by Faith Shiffer.
Shiffer had five 3s and finished with a game-high 16 points.
Brittanie Whitman, who finished with 15 points, added two big baskets to the end of the run.
“We’re a young team so we can keep subbing in and rotating fast and that’s a big thing for us,” Whitman said of the run. “We just throw all our energy out there and go with the flow.”
The Cardinals forced eight Lehighton turnovers during the frame, most of which came during the run.
“That’s obviously our game,” George said. “If we can turn you over, it’s kind of how we have to go. Our defense sparks our offense.
“They’re not real deep. They’re a young, talented team. I think early on, it was a track meet. ... At the end of the day, that pace favors us. You hate to be giving up easy shots, but they’re giving us shots. I think by the time the second half rolls around, it starts to take its toll.”
Two months ago, Lehighton (7-15, 5-9) might not have battled as long as it did Thursday. The Indians cut the deficit to 10 at the start of the fourth quarter, but never got any closer as Pine Grove shot 13-for-17 from the free-throw line in the final frame.
“It’s tough when you’re ... I don’t want to say not playing for something,” Gidney said, “but in the grand scheme of things, while we’ve already started preparing for next year, I think we’re still kind of dealing with the reality that we’re not preparing for the next game.”
And the future is bright for Lehighton. Freshman Aubrey Blasiak is among the top scorers in the league and is second among freshmen. Faust, another freshman, is a rangy, 5-foot-11 forward who isn’t afraid to shoot the long ball, either.
Celina Fital and Riley Durishin led the Indians with 14 points each Thursday.
“It’s been fun,” Gidney said. “We were told that this would be a tough year for us. Even though the record at 5-9 doesn’t necessarily show, we competed with some of the elite programs.”
Like Pine Grove, for example. The Cardinals only beat the Indians by six in their first meeting Jan. 16.
The team’s improvement almost follows that of Pine Grove’s. The Cardinals had a very young team coming into the season and would no doubt miss the presence of last year’s All-Area Co-Player of the Year Becky Evans.
“We lean on our younger players a lot and for them to be able get a taste of the postseason was really big,” George said. “We had a lot of challenges along the way and we really responded. I’m proud of the girls.”
The Cardinals aren’t done yet. They’ll likely get the No. 8 spot in the district playoffs and match up against either North Schuylkill or Minersville, depending on the Schuylkill League playoff outcome.
The Indians won’t be in the district playoffs, but are far from disappointed with this season’s outcome.
“This is the first time I’ve ever been in this gym,” Gidney said Thursday night. “And to walk around and see all those banners over there, and to know that this is the team that we competed against two times this year ... It’s not just here, it’s North Schuylkill, it’s Pottsville, the storied tradition.
“We’re proud to be a part of it but we don’t want to just be a small story line of it, we want to be a major part of it and I think we took some nice steps into that this year.”
Game Summary
LEHIGHTON (55) — Rossino 2 1-3 5, Durishin 5 4-5 14, Fital 6 2-4 14, A. Blasiak 3 3-5 10, Faust 3 0-3 7, B. Blasiak 1 1-2 3, Beck 1 0-0 2, Buchinsky 0 0-0 0, Drofich 0 0-0 0, Bollinger 0 0-0 0, Muffley 0 0-0 0, Frey 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 11-22 55.
PINE GROVE (73) — Cay. Conrad 3 1-2 8, R. Edge 3 4-4 10, Shiffer 5 1-2 16, M. Edge 5 1-2 11, Whitman 4 5-6 15, Wolff 1 1-2 3, Felty 1 0-0 2, Car. Conrad 0 4-5 4, Kaufman 0 0-0 0, Sleva 2 0-0 4. Totals 24 17-23 73.
Leh (7-15, 5-9) 12 12 16 15 — 55 PG (11-11, 8-6) 10 19 27 17 — 73
3-point FGs: A. Blasiak, Faust, Cay. Conrad, Shiffer 5, Whitman 2
JV score: Lehighton 37-34
Schuylkill League
playoff schedule
At Martz Hall
Girls
Semifinals
Tuesday, Feb. 10
Pottsville (Division I wild card) vs. Minersville (Division II champ), 6 p.m.
North Schuylkill (Division I champ) vs. Marian or Shenandoah Valley (Division III champ), 7:30 p.m.
Championship
Friday, Feb. 13
Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.
Boys
Semifinal
Wednesday, Feb. 11
Tamaqua or North Schuylkill (Division I wild card) vs. Mahanoy Area (Division III champ) or Minersville (Division II champ), 6 p.m.
Pottsville (Division I champ) vs. Mahanoy Area (Division III champ) or Minersville (Division II champ), 7:30 p.m.
Championship
Friday, Feb. 13
Semifinal winners, 7:30 p.m.