POTTSVILLE - There's little doubt that Marian can play defense, something a quick poll of teams in the Schuylkill League would confirm.

But perhaps an underappreciated trait of that league-leading unit is its ability to adapt and make adjustments on the fly, regardless of the opponent or situation.And much like they have all season, Fillies' defense once again had an answer, this time holding off Williams Valley 49-34 in the District 11 Class A semifinals."They're a really physical team and they play great defense; they always have and they always will," said Lady Vikings coach Christina Thompson. "We coughed the ball up too many times and they look to create turnovers and score off of turnovers."Marian (23-2) did just that, putting Williams Valley on its heels early by jumping out to a 15-6 lead after the first quarter, highlighted by seven points from junior Abby Whildin.The top-seeded Fillies kept it rolling in the second quarter, opening up a 24-7 advantage at one point and looked to have the game in hand before halftime.But after being stifled by Marian's full-court press for much of the first half, Williams Valley (14-10) finally began to generate some offense.The fifth-seeded Lady Vikings used a balanced effort to cut the halftime deficit to 29-21, forcing Marian coach Paul Brutto to alter his game plan."We pressed less (in the second half)," Brutto said of his strategy. "We wanted to play them in the half court because their guards are quick and they were doing a nice job of splitting double teams. Once we went to the half court defense they struggled to put points on the board."The Fillies held Williams Valley to 13 points in the second half and only one field goal in the fourth quarter, never allowing the Lady Vikings to find their rhythm."I think we panicked a little bit," Thompson said. "We weren't as poised as we should have been and we just didn't rebound as well as I would have liked."You can't give a team like Marian two or three shots because eventually they're going to make them or get fouled."After missing the Fillies' 61-21 quarterfinal win over Lehigh Valley Christian, Savanna Krusinsky certainly made her presence felt against Williams Valley, winning key battles under the basket and capitalizing on second chance points."She's a great rebounder, and on some nights she's our only rebounder," Brutto said of Krusinsky, who finished with a game high 12 points. "Her play on the boards was huge tonight, but I thought (Emily) Sofranko was great, too."Sofranko, who also missed Marian's game on Saturday, was back in the lineup with her usual stellar play on defense and in the low post while also chipping in 10 points. Sophomore Vanessa Whitecavage added eight points.With a spot in the state tournament clinched, the Fillies will now turn their attention to Saturday's championship game against No. 6 Shenandoah Valley, which knocked off defending PIAA Class A champion Tri-Valley in Wednesday night's other quarterfinal contest."They're on a roll," Brutto said of the Lady Devils. "They beat a Nativity team (33-31 in overtime in the quarterfinals) that beat them earlier this season and they just beat a Tri-Valley team that beat them at home. They're playing much better. (Abby) Snitzer (16 ppg) and (Kristina) Nieddu (11 ppg) are a dynamic duo in terms of what they can do and the other girls are playing their roles and pitching in here and there."Obviously, previous results against Shenandoah Valley don't mean very much right now. We have our work cut out for us, but we're just happy that we have this chance to get our seniors a gold medal on their way out."While only a sophomore, the chance for district gold is one Krusinsky is looking forward to."We're hoping to go far in states, but first we want to win districts," she said. "That would be a pretty good start."MARIAN CATHOLICGreen 0-3-5-3, Whildin 3-1-4-7, A. Fannick 0-0-2-0, Whitecavage 3-1-2-8, Sofranko 4-2-2-10, E. Fannick 0-0-0-0, Nemeth 1-2-2-5, Baranko 0-0-0-0, Nilsson 0-0-0-0, Krusinsky 5-2-2-12, Karnish 2-0-0-4, Holman 0-0-2-0. TOTALS: 18-11-21-49.WILLIAMS VALLEYPinchorski 0-0-0-0, Kreiser 2-0-0-4, Hal. Nestor 2-3-5-7, Han. Nestor 2-3-4-8, Wessner 0-0-0-0, Hawk 3-2-2-8, Whelski 2-2-4-7. TOTALS: 11-10-15-34.Marian 15 14 14 6 - 49Will. Vy. 6 15 7 6 - 34Three-pointers: MC - Whitecavage 1, Nemeth 1; WV - Han. Nestor 1, Whelski 1.