Lehighton built a 16-point first quarter lead and rolled to a 70-47 Schuylkill League victory over Panther Valley on Thursday.

Alexis Solomon sank a side jumper to put Lehighton ahead, 4-3 early in the first quarter, and the Indians never looked back.

The Tribe (7-8) played an all-around solid game. Their transition from defense to offense often resulted in three-on-two fast break baskets. They dominated the offensive boards, getting three, four, and sometimes five shots until scoring on put backs. They shared the basketball with crisp passes, and showed great patience in finding the open girl for a good shot.

Coach Joe Berezwick’s team set the tone with a 10-0 run after PV’s Maddison Maynard opened the scoring with a baseline three-pointer. Hailey Miller, who threw in a game high 24 points, scored 11 first-period points on an assortment of bank shots, driving layups, and short jumpers.

“I like the way our team bounced back tonight after losing to Blue Mountain Wednesday,” said Berezwick. “We showed great chemistry, something that’s not been there when we’ve not played well in our losses.”

In the second period, both teams had trouble finding the bottom of the net, combining to make just two baskets on 12 shots in the first 2:30 of the period. But Lehighton quickly found its touch again, going on a 10-1 run that was capped by Abigail Meckes’s banker at the 2:33 mark that increased the lead to 36-13.

In the third quarter, the Panthers (4-12) stood toe to toe with the Tribe, refusing to take the knockout punch.

Maynard’s bank shot at just under three minutes got the home team to within 47-34. But that was as close as it would get. Taylor Bowman’s lay up started an 8-0 run to close the quarter as Lehighton pushed its lead back to over 20 points.

“We continue to have lapses when we play helter-skelter basketball,” said Panther Valley coach Bill ‘Dapper’ Lynn. “We’ve had a couple of girls out with injuries and we’re playing freshmen too, so that’s why we play well at times, but like a train wreck other times.”

Berezwick would certainly like to see more of what his team showed last night, as its inconsistent season has been the result of factors beyond his control, he said.

“With the pandemic and the weather issues, our young team has had to learn on the fly,” he said, “But, tonight we stayed the course and addressed some concerns, especially with our rebounding.”

MAGNIFICENT MADDISON ... Panther Valley’s Maynard played an outstanding game, scoring a team-high 19 points, many on driving layups through traffic jams. She was also a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.

PERFECT PASS ... In the fourth period, Lehighton’s Bowman found a loose ball near the top of the key and pushed a bounce pass with her right hand to Hailey Miller for an easy lay up. It was part of a 24-point performance by Miller.

LEHIGHTON

Miller 10-4-7-24, Bowman 6-3-6-15, Solomon 5-1-2-11, Gaston 3-0-0-8, Marchessault 2-2-2-6, Meckes 2-0-0-4, Fisher 1-0-1-2, McHugh 0-0-0-0 TOTALS: 29-10-18-70.

PANTHER VALLEY

Maynard 6-6-6-19, Dubosky 6-5-6-17, Krapf 2-0-0-5, Robin 1-1-2-3, Vermillion 1-0-0-3 Eidle 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 16-12-14-47.

Lehighton 26 12 17 15 - 70

Panther Valley 10 10 14 13 - 47

Three-pointers: Lehighton - Gaston 2; Panther Valley - Maynard 1, Vermillion 1, Krapf 1.