When Marian senior Lindsay Nemeth hit a 3-point field goal to open the third quarter of Wednesday's Schuylkill League semifinal against North Schuylkill, she knew the second half would be far different from the first.
"It's all about the momentum," Nemeth said. "And we kept the momentum going."
Nemeth's bucket sparked a 14-point run and helped the Fillies defeat the Spartans 31-28 to advance to the finals of the Schuylkill League Basketball Playoffs sponsored by Spark Orthodontics.
"That kind of loosened things up," Marian coach Paul Brutto said of Nemeth's 3-pointer. "We always stress that if we don't shoot well, we're out of that game at halftime. But we were only down by two."
That was because both teams had a tough time making baskets
in the first half, after which North Schuylkill (20-3) led just 10-8.
Each team had ample scoring opportunities in the first half, but didn't convert often. The Spartans shot 3-for-14 from the field (21 percent) and the Fillies (20-1) hit 2-of-23 (9 percent) - a topic that didn't go unnoticed by either coach in the locker room.
"(Coach Brutto) said, 'Just come out, shoot like you can and everything will work out,' " Nemeth said.
And it did work out.
After Nemeth's bucket, a Savanna Krusinsky block sprung Emily Sofranko back to the offensive end for Marian. Sofranko hit 1-of-2 from the free-throw line before Gabby Green dished an inside pass to Krusinsky for a lay-in that gave the Fillies a 14-10 lead.
Sofranko earned another trip to the free-throw line - again hitting 1-of-2 - before a Krusinsky defensive rebound that led to the sophomore forward putting in a layup on the other end, extending the Fillies' lead to seven points.
Krusinsky finished with a team-high 10 points.
Nemeth hit a second 3-pointer after one of four North Schuylkill turnovers in the first four minutes of the second half and Abbey Whildin hit 2-of-2 at the foul line to give Marian a 22-10 lead.
It wasn't until Spartans sophomore Tiffany Lapotsky hit the back end of two free throws with 3:27 remaining in the frame that the run ended.
"It's the best we've played defense in a long time," Brutto said. "We're the No. 1 and 2 defenses in the league, so we knew it was going to be down to the wire."
Much of the credit defensively went to Sofranko, who took the point of the Fillies' defense by guarding Lapotsky.
"She's probably the best on-ball defender that I can ever remember coaching," Brutto said of Sofranko. "I think she's the best on-ball defender in the league. She is just a pest. Her teammates don't want her guarding them in practice. She's relentless. You spin, you turn, you cross, she's right in front of you.
"Lapotsky makes them go. So anytime you can make the other point guard struggle a little bit, it really helps out the defensive end."
Lapotsky paced North Schuylkill with 10 points.
"They have about seven or eight players that they can sub in and we were trying to stop them on both offense and defense," Sofranko said.
The Fillies did a great job of limiting their scoring, too. Spartans junior forward Carly Gregas added eight points. But after that, no Spartan scored more than three.
North Schuylkill did mount a run in the fourth quarter. Lauren Damiter's 3-pointer sliced Marian's lead to 25-19 with 5:39 remaining.
But the Fillies didn't stray from their defensive strategy and limited the Spartans' opportunities by controlling the defensive boards the rest of the way.
"It was the worst offensive performance I've ever been part of as a coach, and that falls on me," North Schuylkill coach John Rizzo said. "Marian's defense made us work, made our offense look bad."
That defense will be tested again in the league finals Friday night, when Marian battles Division II champion Minersville. The Battlin' Miners beat Pottsville 46-42 in the first game Wednesday night.
"Marian is too good a team to fall down to by eight, 10 or 11 points like that," Rizzo said. "We had a hard time fighting back. Good teams take care of the ball. Good teams protect the lead. They were the better team tonight in all aspects of the game."