Forcing turnovers has been key for the Jim Thorpe Lady Olympians basketball this season. One look at the length in Thorpe's half court 1-3-1 trapping defense and it's easy to see why its been able to get teams to turn the ball over on a consistent basis.

Monday night offered much of the same as the Olympians (8-2) used their 1-3-1 "D" to create offensive opportunities, defeating Palmerton 61-17. With the victory, Thorpe will now move on to the championship game of the Lady Indians Holiday Classic tomorrow night where they will face off with host Lehighton at 7:30 p.m.In the first quarter the Bombers (1-7) actually stayed in the game, trailing by seven points. Turnovers were a problem for both teams in the quarter as both Jim Thorpe (7) and Palmerton (9) combined for 16 turnovers.Also, the Bombers did a good job denying premier Olympians scorer Kayley Kovac the ball, holding her to just four points in the first quarter."They came out and threw some different defenses at us, and we just didn't do a good job setting screens," said Jim Thorpe head coach Rob Kovac. "We see there's type of defenses all the time, so we should've been better against it. Give credit to Palmerton though, they came out and played us tough."The second quarter proved to be the difference maker and the kick start for the Lady Olympians needed. Thorpe turned up the intensity dial on its 1-3-1 defense, forcing 12 Palmerton turnovers. The result was a 17-7 Olympians run that gave them a 17-point half time advantage."We were able to have more success with our defense in the second quarter and I think our length got to them at that point," said Kovac. I don't think people realize how long we are on the perimeter and we're able to get our hands on a lot passes, which then helps us get out in transition. That was the difference for us tonight."The third quarter was much of the same as the Olympians were able to keep the pressure on. The Bombers turned it over seven more times in the third and the Olympians once again used it to their advantage, outscoring Palmerton 19-3 in the frame to put the game away.Although Jim Thorpe was able to come away with a big victory, Kovac knows that this year's team isn't a finished product. The Olympians did the turn the ball over 19 times on the night, which is something Kovac doesn't want to see from his ball club."We're definitely not a finished product yet and we definitely played sloppy tonight, but to play like we did and still come away with a pretty big win says a lot about our athleticism," said Kovac. "We're playing a lot of freshman and sophomore and we have eight wins. That's a promising thing for this team and the program. We just have to keep working and getting better."DOMINANT DEFENSE ... The Olympians half court 1-3-1 when extended against Palmerton gave the Bombers fits throughout the night. The Bombers were forced into 30 turnovers.KILLER KOVAC ... Kayley Kovac was held in check in the first quarter, scoring just four points. However, she scored 18 points between the second and third quarter to lead everyone with 22 points.SHOOTING WOES ... Either team was able to really getting go from the outside on Monday. Palmerton forward Lela Goodhile was responsible for the lone three-point field goal in the ball game.PALMERTONHirochek 0-0-0-0, Shupp 0-0-0-0, Lerster 1-2-4-4, Frantz 1-0-0-2, Wentz 0-0-2-0, Munzz 1-2-4-4, Beers 2-0-0-4, Goodhile 1-0-0-3. Totals: 6-4-10-17.JIM THORPERichards 1-0-0-2, P. Kovac 3-1-2-7, Behan 0-0-0-0, Condly 0-0-0-0, Ohl 3-1-4-7, Naranjo 2-0-0-4, 9-4-11-22, Cressman 3-0-0-6, Waselus 0-1-2-1, Lignore 4-0-2-8, Gabel 1-0-0-2, Fasolino 1-0-0-2. Totals: 24-6-21-61.Palmerton 3 7 3 4 - 17Jim Thorpe 10 17 19 15 - 61Three-pointers: P - Goodhile 1.