Kayla Sherry only needed about two seconds to answer why the Tamaqua girls' basketball team was able to perfect its full court press straight into a man-to-man defense Monday night.

And, it was the two words that she stated that went on to work wonders in the Blue Raiders' 41-27 Schuylkill League Division I victory over Panther Valley."Hard work," said Sherry, who was a key component up front in the Blue Raiders' pressurized defensive set-up that wreaked havoc for the Panthers all night."Always at practice during defensive slides, we're just working hard as a team by simply encouraging one another. We're constantly talking on the floor, calling out the ball, who we have, so communication is key to success."When asked about her defense holding the Panthers to a dismal 9-for-37 effort from the floor, forcing the Panthers into 31 turnovers on the night and holding them to single digits in three of the four quarters played,Tamaqua first-year coach Erika Davis pretty much echoed her sophomore point guard."If we're not talented, at least we can work hard and anybody can have that," Davis stressed. "We're looking for the five, six or seven girls that are going to work the hardest and keep them on the floor."So, hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. So, that's definitely something that we preach to them about is hard work."It was those two valuable words that carried straight from practice into last night's game. It also helped the Blue Raiders turn a four-point first half lead into a double digit point difference in the victory.After one, the two league opponents were knotted at 12-12.At half, the Blue Raiders were up only by four points, 18-14.The second half was a different story, however.The Blue Raiders' defense fueled the offensive fire of the Blue Raider trio of Kirsten Jones, Sherry and Courtney Hoffman.While the defense continued to stifle the Panthers all night, the Blue Raiders' trio turned those costly Panther turnovers into some quick baskets. Both Jones and Sherry scored eight of their team-high 12 points in the second half. Hoffman followed by turning a few sweet looking steals into quick jumpers, which accounted for a portion of all of her nine points in the final half."We like to make sure our defense is what gets our offense going," Davis stressed. "Our man-to-man definitely took over for us tonight as it created the offense for us. But, we were taking what they were giving us."Unfortunately for the Panthers, they weren't able to cash in on their first win of the season. Instead, they now have to wait another day to see that happen.Right now though, they must put this one behind them and move on from what turned out to be one of those nights."It's going to take time," said Panther Valley first-year coach William Lynn. "I understand we're young, and I'm trying to be patient with them, but we have to make shots. You get into the paint, you got to make shots. Right now, we're just not making shots."In varsity basketball, you got to get five or six out of everybody. But, right now, we're not getting those individuals who can score."Chloe Markovich led the Panthers with 11 points, in which nine of them came on three-pointers, while Christina Dacey followed with 10.CAN'T BUY A BUCKET ... From 2:05 left in the opening quarter straight through until 3:04 left in the third quarter, the Blue Raiders' full-court press straight into a man-to-man defensive set-up held the Panthers without a single basket. The total time elapsed until the Panthers' Christina Dacey hit a driving lay-up in the third quarter was 15-minutes and one-second - almost two full periods of play.NOT A GOOD EIGHT MINUTES ... In the second quarter, the Blue Raiders and Panthers combined for a dismal 2-for-33 performance from the floor. Kirsten Jones' put back bucket with 3:20 left in the quarter and jumper with 2.4 seconds left on the clock were the lone baskets made the entire eight minutes of play. The Blue Raiders finished 2-for-20, while the Panthers were 0-for-13.PANTHER VALLEYWeaver 0-0-0-0, Picht 0-0-0-0, Filer 3-0-0-6, Dacey 3-4-5-10, C. Markovich 3-2-2-11, Miller 0-0-0-0, Williams 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 9-6-7-27.TAMAQUAHoffman 4-1-2-9, Hromyak 0-0-0-0, Sherry 4-1-2-12, Jones 6-0-2-12, Stauffenberg 0-0-2-0, Amershek 1-0-0-3, McVicker 1-1-2-3, Agosti 0-2-2-2, Ceci 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 16-5-12-41.Panther Vy. 12 2 6 7 - 27Tamaqua 12 6 12 11 - 41Three-pointers: PV - C. Markovich 3; Tamaqua - Sherry 3, Amershek 1.