The Tamaqua girls' basketball team has a rising star on its roster.

On Friday night, the freshman phenom provided a spark to help the Raiders earn a 60-45 win over Schuylkill League Division I foe Panther Valley.Regardless of a season-high 34-point performance, Emma Kuczynski did not want to take all of the credit for the Blue Raiders' victory."I owe it all to my teammates," said a very unselfish Kuczynski. "I can't score without their passes, rebounds or everything else they do out there on the court. It just was a really good team win today."Kuczynski went on a bit of a tear in the first quarter, as she score seven of the Raiders' first 14 points.Every time Panther Valley pulled closer to Tamaqua in the second quarter, Kuczynski found a way to answer right back every time.After the Panthers' Chloe Markovich nailed a three-pointer, Kuczynski converted two three-point plays and recorded two steals for break-away layups.Despite clinging on to a 29-22 lead at half, Tamaqua coach Erika Davis was thankful for Kuczynski's efforts when they needed them the most."She's a really good ballplayer and she makes everybody around her that much better," Davis said. "We knew we feed off of her and a lot of our offenses are built off of her. Emma carried the team on her shoulder. She didn't force anything. Her shot was going in. She was getting into the lane."In the end, after two games of seeing herself in foul trouble, this was a good confidence builder for her with her game tonight."The Panthers refused to give up over the final 16 minutes of play, despite seeing a Raiders' lead grow to as much as 13 points.Panther Valley coach William "Dapper" Lynn watched his Panthers attempt to make a comeback, as his squad pulled within five points twice in the fourth quarter."They never quit," Lynn said. "That's one thing I'm proud of them. We're young, but they're veterans, but they refuse to quit. They know if they quit, they don't play. But, we just got to win some games. Right now, we're not winning and they're down.But the Blue Raiders put together a convincing 13-3 run to end the game, as Chloe Markovich's fourth trey of the night was the only PV scoring during the sequence."Winners breed winners - that's the way it is," said Lynn. "That's the way it's always been. We will get there."OUT THE GATES QUICKLY ...The Blue Raiders currently sit a 5-2 overall, which is their best start since they went 4-3 in 2012. Back in 2010, the Blue Raiders were perfect through seven games.DOUBLE TROUBLE ...Kuczynski wasn't alone. She was in great company with Blue Raider teammates, especially Kirstin Jones. The junior finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.SECOND HALF SURGE ...The Panthers' Rachelle Filler posted 10 of her 14 points in the second half, while teammate Chloe Markovich sunk three of her four three-pointers to finish with 14 too.RAIDERS TAKE JV GAME ...Tamaqua started the night with a 32-24 victory over Panther Valley in the Junior Varsity game. Rebekah Hromyak led the Blue Raiders with 12 points, while the Panthers' Megan Pascoe finished with a game-high 13 points.TAMAQUAR. Hromyak 0-0-0-0, Hoffman 0-0-0-0, Zuber 3-0-0-8, A. Hromyak 0-0-1-0, Jones 4-4-6-12, Titus 1-2-4-4, Ceci 0-0-0-0, Frederickson 1-0-0-2, Kuczynski 12-10-13-34. TOTALS: 21-16-24-60.PANTHER VALLEYPascoe 1-0-0-3, Weaver 0-0-0-0, Knoblauch 0-0-0-0, Hoben 0-0-0-0, Sheridan 0-2-2-2, Dacey 4-0-0-8, 6-2-3-14, Miller 2-0-2-4, Markovich 5-0-0-14, Ketchledge 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 18-4-7-45.Tamaqua 14 15 16 15 - 60Panther Vy. 9 13 12 11 - 45Three-pointers - Tamaqua: Zuber 2; Panther Valley: Markovich 3.