POTTSVILLE - The Marian girls' basketball team was in a whole lot of trouble Thursday evening.

The Fillies were being frustrated by an upstart Shenandoah Valley team during the first half of their District 11 Class 2A quarterfinal round game.The Blue Devils were looking confident and poised while there appeared to be no giddy-up in the Fillies.That was until unsung 6-0 sophomore Emma McClafferty made her presense felt for Marian. McClafferty's strong play in the paint lit a fire under the Fillies and propelled them to a 38-27 victory."She was a game changer," said Marian coach Paul Brutto.Indeed, McClafferty sparked the Fillies' outburst at fabled Martz Hall. With the momentum changed, Brenna Karnish and Jill Correalle joined McClafferty in fueling the fire in the second half, allowing Marian to extend its season.The win sends Marian up against pre-tourney favorite Minersville on Monday at 8 p.m. at Martz Hall in the semifinal round.The Fillies' hopes for a second meeting this season against the Miners looked in doubt early as they struggled with Shenandoah Valley's cutting inside attack that produced solid numbers for 5-9 junior Allison Wargo and 5-6 senior guard Carly Teaschenko inside the paint.Wargo seemed to rule the glass, collecting four of her six rebounds in the second quarter and leading the Devils to a 19-16 lead at the half.Wargo's inside presence caused headaches for the Fillies until McClafferty intervened."McClafferty did a great job tonight," said Brutto. She gave Wargo fits on the defensive end just because of the size difference."Shenandoah Valley held a 25-21 lead when freshman Victoria Donovan drained a bucket at 4:41 mark of the third period. It was the last basket for the Devils until there was 1:02 to play in the contest.Meanwhile, Karnish and Correalle were joining McCafferty to ignite the Fillies' comeback.Marian started to turn it on when Correalle buried a triple from the corner, and freshman Macy Alansky drove through the heart of the Shenandoah defense for two more points, before Karnish lifted her team to a 30-25 lead to end the third."The first half was one of the best halves offensively we've had against Marian in a long time," said Shenandoah Valley coach Chris Conroy. "But they came out in the second half with a little more pressure. They extended the defense and they were switching with some screens. It bothered us. We needed to make more plays, basketball plays, but we never responded."'Big Mo' had taken its course in Marian's direction after the rush to end the third quarter. Marian continued to dominate defensively even though it missed its first nine shots to open the fourth quarter. Frosh guard Emily Shaud sank two fouls with 5:29 to play for a 32-25 lead, before McClafferty made a great drop-step inside for two more Marian points and the Devils could never respond."We got more active in the second half," said Brutto. "In the first half, Shenandoah was doing what it wanted to do on offense."FILLIES OFFENSE ... Karnish had a big game with 16 points to lead Marian and Shaud added 10.GLASS CLEANING ... Marian outrebounded SV 29-22. McClafferty and Correalle had five apiece for the Fillies.ON DECK ... Marian will be playing the role of underdog against an undefeated Minersville team that is ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 2A.SHENANDOAH VALLEYTeaschenko 5-0-1-10, Demilis 3-0-0-7, Wargo 2-0-2-4, Donovan 1-1-4-3, Michalik 1-0-0-3, Gallo 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 11-2-7 27.MARIANKarnish 6-3-6-16, Shaud 3-4-7-10, Alansky 2-1-2-5, McClafferty 2-0-0-4, Correalle 1-0-0-3, Schwabe 0-0-0-0, Raabe 0-0-0-0. TOTALS:14-5-8-38.Shenandoah 12 7 6 2 - 27Marian 11 5 14 8 - 38Three-pointers: Shenandoah - Demalis 1, Michalik 1; Marian - Karnish 1, Correalle 1.