Much has changed since the first time that Jim Thorpe and Tamaqua met earlier this season. Both teams have developed and improved and, due to injuries, there have been some changes in personnel for both sides.

With the Olympians and Raiders at contrasting positions at this point of the season, the desire to win remains the same.Both sides displayed that desire, as they battled for the victory. However, it was Kayley Kovac and the rest of the Lady Olympians who triumphed in this Schuylkill League contest, 46-36.The game's play may not have been the cleanest, and neither side proved to be overly impressive shooting the ball, but the will to win was apparent and on display throughout.A couple weeks ago, Jim Thorpe stood at 7-3, before hitting a losing skid of four straight, heading into Saturday afternoon's game. Meanwhile, Tamaqua's season-long search for their identity continues alongside their search for their second win of the year.The Lady Raiders didn't hesitate to take it to the Olympians out of the gates, as they moved out to a 23-21 halftime lead. However, the adjustments at the intermission favored Thorpe, and eventually, they pulled out the win to improve to 8-7 on the year."We talked about it at halftime," freshman point-producer Kayley Kovac said after the game. "Early on, I was scoring a majority of the team's points and we knew that Tamaqua would key on me in the second half, so we knew I needed to start getting others involved. That's what we did and I think that's a big reason we won."At one point, Kovac scored 25 of her team's 27 points, despite facing double and triple team efforts by the Lady Raiders."I just wasn't passing and at halftime, we discussed that when I go to the basket, the defense comes to me, so I needed to start dishing to the open girls," Kovac added.The strategy seemed to work, as Gabbie Binder and Kaitlyn Ohl scored crucial points down the stretch to aid the Olympians' win."Without Alexis (Naranjo), a burden of scoring falls on Kayley," Jim Thorpe head basketball coach, Rob Kovac stated. "I thought she showed a nice step in the maturation process by getting her teammates involved nicely."In the first frame, there were four ties and six lead changes, before a turn-around by Kovac gave the Olympians a 12-11 edge after one. Kovac recorded 10 in those first eight minutes, while Vanessa Solt had six to keep the Raiders close.In the second, Tamaqua was hitting their jumpers and hitting the glass, as they built a 23-18 lead after Paige Demetriades' drive down the lane with just over two minutes left before half.Meanwhile, Kovac scored all nine of her team's points in the session, including three from that point on to cut the Raider lead to two (23-21) at the break.Out of the lockerrooms, Kovac helped give her team a lead before a Demetriades jumper tied it up at 27-27with 4:31 left in the third. However, a Binder layup sparked an 8-0 run for the winners, giving them a 35-27 lead heading into the final eight minutes.A 10-4 run gave Jim Thorpe a 14-point lead with just over two minutes remaining and the Raiders were forced to play catch-up the rest of the way."It was a tough game to lose," Tamaqua head coach Joe Berezwick said. "The girls are trying to find themselves and we are in some of these games. Today, I was proud of the team for the way they hustled and fought to the end. I thought we had the looks at the basket, but they just didn't drop."In the contest, Kovac led all scorers with 32 points.For Tamaqua (1-13), Solt led the way with 15, while Demetriades added 10.Jim Thorpe also prevailed in the JV game, 38-21, as Jordan Waselius scored 14.JIM THORPEDoughty 0-0-0-0, P.Kovac 0-0-0-0, Condly 0-0-0-0, Ohl 3-0-2-6, Binder 2-2-6-6, K. Kovac 15-2-6-32, Cressman 0-0-0-0, Waselus 0-0-0-0, Lignore 1-0-0-2, Gabel 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 21-4-14-46.TAMAQUAHartung 2-0-2-5, Demetriades 4-1-3-10, Hoffman 0-0-0-0, Jones 0-0-0-0, Wittig 1-0-2-2, Baddick 1-0-0-2, Solt 4-7-10-15, Pratko 0-0-0-0, McVicker 1-0-1-2. TOTALS: 13-8-18-36.Jim Thorpe 12 9 14 11 - 46Tamaqua 11 12 4 9 - 36Three-pointers: JT - none; T - Demetriades 1, Hartung 1.