MINERSVILLE - Don't read too much into the final numbers.

Yes, Marian suffered a 48-26 loss to Minersville, the top-ranked Class 2A girls' teams in the state of Pennsylvania.But the final outcome doesn't do justice to the way the Fillies battled one of the best teams to come out of the Schuylkill Girls Basketball League in over a decade.Marian's shortcomings came at the foul line, and in a crucial third quarter where it turned the ball over seven times.But their were also plenty of bright spots for the Fillies, who were deadlocked 13-13 at the half and looked poised enough to pull off a major upset"They're so athletic and they make so many great plays," said Marian coach Paul Brutto about the Miners (18-0, 9-0).Brutto could only shake his head, and marvel at one particular play Minersville's guard Abby Schoffstall had made when she came flying across the lane, looked totally defended by Brenna Karnish and tossed in a playground-type left-handed semi-hook shot for two of her 12 points."Did you see that," Brutto said. "(Schoffstall) hit some shots that were totally ridiculous … what are you going to do? They're loaded. They've got a little bit of everything."Thanks to outstanding defensive play and a patient offense, Marian (10-5, 6-2) hung right with the talented Miners for three-and-a-half quarters."They made what seemed like a dozen passes before they looked to shoot," said Minersville coach Jared Homa about the Fillies' game plan. "They took the air out of the ball."Neither team could put the ball in the cylinder in the first half. Marian was just 6-for-21 from the field while Minersville went 6-for-24.With 3:22 to play in the second quarter, the Fillies' Gianna Agosti hit a triple to tie the score at 13-13. It turned out to be the final points of a period that saw just a combined total of just 10 points between the two teams."Marian was very physical on the defensive end," said Homa. "Give them a lot of credit. They did a very good job in their half-court defense. What was happening to us was we were overpassing, being too unselfish at times."The Lady Miners sank the first six points to start the third quarter and eventually opened a 25-14 lead.Marian did make a run to start the final quarter, getting five points from freshman Emily Shaud to cut the deficit to 26-21.But the Miners answered with a seven-point run to build a 33-21 cushion. Minersville then stash the victory away as the Fillies were forced to increase the tempo with the clock winding down. The Miners took advantage by breaking Marian's trapping defense for easy inside baskets."We were right there with them for most of the game," Brutto said. "I told our girls it was a great effort, but we missed too many free throws, and too many layups and second shots."RANKINGS... Minersville is the top-ranked Class 2A team in the state and the ninth-ranked team in the state overall according to Max-Preps. Marian is ranked No. 12 in the state in 2A.SUNDAY EVENING... Marian will host Nativity in a varsity only game Sunday at 5 p.m..SPLITSVILLE... Marian won the JV game, 30-28. Macy Alansky had 11 points for the Fillies and Emma McClafferty tossed in eight.MARIANShaud 5-2-4-12, Karnish 2-3-6-7, Agosti 2-0-1-5, Alansky 10-0-2, McClafferty 0-0-0-0, Raabe 0-0-0-0, Correale 0-0-0-0. Totals: 10-5-11-26.MINERSVILLEAd. Kroznuskie 5-4-4-15, Schoffstall 5-2-7-12, Wigoda 4-2-2-10, Nawrocki 2-0-0-6, Mealey 1-3-6-5, Kriston 0-0-0-0. Totals: 17-11-19-48.Marian 8 5 5 8 - 26Minersville 8 5 13 22 - 48Three-pointers: Mar - Agosti 1. Min - Nawrocki 2, Kroznuskie 1.