Write it down. Record breakers. History makers.

The 2018-19 Jim Thorpe girls’ basketball team has completed their regular season undefeated. It’s the first time in school history that either a girls or boys basketball team has gone through their entire schedule without a blemish.

“I knew we could be good, but to be 22-0 is most surprising, especially considering how young our team is,” said Olympian coach Rob Kovac.

The odds of winning every game are very low, and the accomplishment is rare.

Most teams deal with injuries to starting players, and even super talented players can have off nights resulting in a loss or two. This is the just the fourth time in the last 23 seasons that a Times News area team has put together an unbeaten regular season — and all of them have been girls teams.

• The Nikki Levandusky — led Palmerton team accomplished the feat during the 1996-97 season.

• The Aimee Oertner — led Northern Lehigh team pulled it off during the 2009-10 campaign.

• The Amy Zehner — led Tamaqua team went unbeaten during the 2010-11 season.

While all those squads were veteran teams led by future Division 1 college players, this year’s Jim Thorpe squad is quite the contrast.

The Olympians’ starting lineup features senior Natalia Richards, junior Kristin Scott and three very talented freshmen in Skyler Searfoss, Leila Hurley and Olivia Smelas.

Thorpe’s record was never set as a team goal. As the number of consecutive wins increased, Kovac and his staff kept a low-key approach with their players.

“The schedule played out to our advantage,” said Kovac. “Early on, we gained confidence by beating some struggling teams. Then we got to Pottsville and Pine Grove, and after winning those games, we believed we were ready to take another huge step in January.”

Jim Thorpe athletic director, Dustin McAndrew echoed Kovac’s assessment of the enormity of the Olympians’ accomplishment.

“They proved to be a great team,” he said. ”We thought they’d be good, but it was a surprise to many that they’d be this good.”

According to Kovac, his players left no one wondering how good they could be after they defeated Blue Mountain by 28 points.

“In that game, against a team with a winning record, we hit a different gear,” he said. ‘That’s when my staff and I knew we could raise the bar and coach our kids up at practices.

“We threw complex offensive strategies that are on the college level at them. They were so eager to learn and they have such high basketball IQs.”

But tests to remain unbeaten were still to come.

Down by eight and 10 points in a pair of games against North Schuylkill, the Olympians rallied to win. After beating a strong Tamaqua team by six points in their first match up, the second game nearly ended the unbeaten streak.

Thorpe led by 18 points going into the fourth quarter when the Raiders mounted a furious comeback to tie the game with just a few minutes left to play. “We kept our poise even though they were dropping down a ton of threes believing that the law of averages would catch up with them and it did,” Kovac said. “And when Hurley sank two free throws in a packed gym with the game on the line that tells you something about the poise that our freshmen have shown in big spots all year long.”

Kovac likes to describe the outbursts that the Olympians have made time-and-time again throughout the season with the word, “spurtability.”

“When we pressure the ball, cause turnovers, and turn them into transition baskets, we can run up a lot of points in a hurry,” he said.

Kovac stated that “undefeated” was the word no one in the program would speak about. He and his staff continue to preach to their players to stay humble and stay hungry.

“What these kids do off the court is as impressive as what they have done on it,” Kovac said. “They are wonderful students, and just really good kids with high moral character. That’s a tribute to not only them, but to their parents as well.”

McAndrew noted that more and more fans have been coming out to support the team’s “phenomenal season.”

“The team is amazing to watch,” he said, “They play so well together and you can see the trust they have in each other.”

Now the Olympians have set their sights on the Schuylkill League championship. They play Lourdes Thursday at Martz Hall in Pottsville, and a victory will put them in the title game against either Tamaqua or Mahanoy Area. Then they will move on to the District 11 playoffs next week.

“We tell the kids there are no guarantees that you’ll get this opportunity again,” said Kovac. “During the season, each time we played a team the second time around, they gave us their best shot. Now it’s our turn to give the teams we play our best shot.”

Win or lose in postseason play, these Jim Thorpe Olympians have placed themselves permanently in their school’s history book.

McAndrew asked a question that is probably on a lot of people’s mind, “Can you imagine what this team might still accomplish?”

The new warm-ups the Olympians will be wearing during postseason play seem to answer that question.

They have one word printed on the backs of their jerseys — “DREAM.”

It’s something that has gotten the Olympians to where they are. It’s also something that they hope will help take them even further.

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EIGHT IS ENOUGH ... After checking into the Jim Thorpe history books, freshman Leila Hurley set a single-game girls basketball record for three-point field goals made with eight in a recent contest with Panther Valley on Feb. 1. Hurley hit seven triples in the first half and finished with 28 points in the game, matching her career-high. Brad Balliet holds the single-game record for three-pointers made for the boys, hitting 12 against Williams Valley on Feb. 2, 1995. Balliet scored 55 points in the game, which is a single-game record for both programs.

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PLAYOFF POSTPONEMENTS ... Both the Schuylkill League and Colonial League have postponed their girls basketball playoff semifinal games scheduled for tonight. The changes impact three area teams — Jim Thorpe, The Schuylkill League doubleheader (Mahanoy Area vs. Tamaqua, 6 p.m.; Lourdes vs. Jim Thorpe, 7:30 p.m.) will now be played Thursday at Martz Hall in Pottsville.

The boys semifinal games (Blue Mountain vs. Lourdes, 6 p.m.; Mahanoy Area vs. Pottsville, 7:30 p.m.) will still be played on Wednesday at Martz Hall.

The girls and boys semifinal winners will play Friday at Martz for the league championship. The girls game will be at 6 p.m. and the boys at 7:30 p.m.

The Colonial League will now play both their girls and boys semifinals on Wednesday.

At Whitehall High School, the Northwestern vs. Southern Lehigh girls game will be at 6 p.m. and the Notre Dame vs. Southern Lehigh boys game will be at 7:45 p.m.

At Catasauqua High School, the Notre Dame vs. Bangor girls game will be at 5:45 p.m. and the Moravian Academy vs. Bangor boys game will be at 7:30 p.m.

The girls and boys championship games will take place at Freedom High School on Friday. The girls game will begin at 6 p.m. and the boys game at 8 p.m.

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GIRLS SUCCESS ... The top four girls teams (Jim Thorpe, Marian, Northwestern, Tamaqua) in the area have a combined record of 80-9, and all four have at least 19 wins.

The last time there were four area girls teams with at least 19 victories was the 2005-06 season.

The teams, with their win totals, included Marian (30), Northwestern (24), Pleasant Valley (20) and Tamaqua (19).

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CENTURY MARK ... Northern Lehigh posted a Colonial League victory over Wilson on Feb. 4.

The 81-68 win not only clinched a league playoff berth for the Bulldogs, but it was also the 100th at Northern Lehigh for head coach Jeff Miller.

The nine-year mentor currently has a career record of 101-106.

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MILESTONES ... Two more area basketball players recently surpassed the 1,000-point mark in their careers.

Northern Lehigh senior Brandon Hess reached the scoring milestone on Jan. 24 against Notre Dame of Green Pond.

Northwestern senior Sam Yadush hit the magical mark on Feb. 1 against Salisbury.

They join Panther Valley Rene Figueroa, Marian’s Tyler Fritz, Palmerton’s Nate Dougherty, Tamaqua’s Emma Kuczynski, and Northern Lehigh’s Jada Saeger.