POTTSVILLE - The tradition continues!

The North Schuylkill girls’ basketball team is a champion again.

Friday night, the Spartans managed to twist and turn, and bob and weave their way past a very good Jim Thorpe outfit at Martz Hall.

The 71-63 victory was not only North Schuylkill’s second straight Schuylkill League title, but the program’s 16h league crown overall.

When the teams hit the halfway point tied at 26-26, Jim Thorpe had to feel it was in good position, considering in their two previous regular season meetings it had trailed by nine and 11 points respectively at the half.

The first time around, the Olympians rallied for a victory at home. In the second game, they once again rallied to make it interesting before falling late in the contest.

That set up last night’s rubber match that figured to be a donnybrook.

“The second half ... the second half,” repeated Jim Thorpe coach Nadia Gauronsky about the difference in the game.

Gauronsky quickly pointed to the torrid shooting the Spartans’ unloaded on her team as they shot 21-for-39 (54 percent) for the game and missed just eight shots in the second half.

Leading the charge was talented sophomore Kamryn Mengel, who dropped in a game-high 23 points- 16 coming in the second half.

Mengel was one of four players in twin figures for the Spartans. Maddy Wetzel flung in 11 points, while her sister Mya Wetzel and junior Katelynn Himes both added 10 points.

The game’s biggest baskets were applied by Maddy Wetzel and Wagner, who combined to bury three triples late in the third quarter. The flurry allowed North Schuylkill to take a 49-42 lead into the final period.

“Those threes were huge,” said North Schuylkill coach Rich Wetzel - the father of Mya and Maddy. “That really gave us a shot. It helped us get control of the game at that particular time.”

Indeed, that was the case. Gauronsky tried to settle her troops between quarters, but the sudden surge was a jolt that Thorpe never was able to overcome.

“They made some big shots, and it was pretty incredible to shoot the ball that well,” said Gauronsky. “But even with that great shooting, I thought we were still in the game.”

North Schuylkill’s lead swelled to 55-44 at one point in the fourth quarter.

But trailing by double figures midway through the quarter, Thorpe went on a run that made things interesting.

Mackenzie Yuhas put in a finger roll basket to start a rally and when Oliva Smales sank two foul tries with 2:47 remaining her team was within striking distance at 61-56.

Mengel drained three clutch foul shots for North Schuylkill, but Leah Snisky drove the paint for a deuce, and Skylar Searfoss, who may be the best player in the league, followed with two foul conversions. When Leila Hurley drilled a ring-tailed howitzer for a triple with 42 seconds on the clock, the Olympians were within a possession at 66-63.

But there was no panic in the Spartans’ camp.

“I never thought about calling a timeout,” Wetzel said when asked about the shrinking Spartan lead. “These kids are smart, we spread the floor, they knew what to do … they’re tough kids (mentally).”

That showed when Mengel scored the game’s final five points from the charity line to ice the crowning.

“What can you do?” Gauronsky asked. “How do you negate the shooting they had?”

HOT POTATO … In the first half both teams had trouble handling the rock. Thorpe had 11 of its 19 turnovers in the half, while North Schuylkill had 14 of its 20.

SHOOTING STARS … Searfoss dropped in 20 points, Hurley added 14 and Snisky scored 10 for the Olympians.

THE DIFFERENCE ... Both teams nailed 21 field goals, including six apiece from three-point range. The tale of the tape was the charity line where North Schuylkill converted 23 of 35 while Thorpe was 15-for-18.

TEMPO TEMPO TEMPO ... North Schuylkill (18-3) got the up-tempo pace it wanted in the second half and that was the difference. The Olympians (17-5) were unable to slow things down and committed miscues at crucial times in the game.

JIM THORPE

Snisky 4-2-2-10, Yuhas 4-1-1-9, Hurley 5-0-0-14, Searfoss 5-9-10-20, O. Smelas 1-3-5-5, H. Smelas 2-0-0-5. TOTALS: 21-15-18-63.

NORTH SCHUYLKILL

Himes 3-2-2-10, My. Wetzel 3-2-2-10, Gawrylik 0-1-2-1, Mengel 6-11-16-23, Ma. Wetzel 4-1-2-11, Wagner 3-2-5-8, Mogish 0-0-0-0, Stitzer 2-4-6-8. TOTALS: 21-23-35-71.

Jim Thorpe 10 16 16 21 - 63

North Schuylkill 8 18 23 22 - 71

Three-pointers: Jim Thorpe - Hurley 4, Searfoss 1, H. Smelas 1. North Schuylkill - Himes 2, My. Wetzel 2, Ma. Wetzel 2.