Jim Thorpe and Panther Valley had something to prove on Friday night.

And in the end, both teams succeeded.

The Olympians ended up holding on for a 51-47 victory in both school’s Schuylkill League opener.

Thorpe, last year’s District 11 Class 4A champions, lost four of its five starters through graduation but head coach Nadia Gauronsky believes her squad still has enough talent to make the playoffs again this season.

Meanwhile, Panther Valley mentor Rob Kovac is in his second year and is working on building a winning program. So far, it looks like he has the right formula.

Friday’s contest was close all night. Although the Olympians led most of the night, they only had a three-point edge with 42 seconds left.

It looked like PV would get a tying opportunity when linchpin Maddison Maynard intercepted a pass. But Thorpe forced a jump ball and gained possession 15 seconds remaining on the clock.

The back end of a one-and-one by the Olympians’ MacKenzie Yuhas accounted for the final score.

The game began as an anticipated matchup between Yuhas, who has been averaging 18.7 points a game, and Maynard - who ended with her third game of 30-or-more points.

Maynard scored 11 of her team’s 16 first-quarter points. Yuhas managed six points in the frame, but fellow senior Haley Smelas tallied eight as Thorpe led 17-16 after the first eight minutes of play.

The advantage stayed tight by halftime with the Olympians ahead 31-29 on the scoreboard.

Jim Thorpe (3-1 overall, 1-0 in the league) double-teamed Maynard for much of the second half and allowed her only three points in the third quarter.

The Panthers (2-2; 0-1) battled back in the fourth but the Olympians relied on a slow-down defense and couldn’t be caught.

“Panther Valley is really tough,” said Gauronsky. “And Maynard is just a fantastic player.”

She credited the leadership shown by Yuhas and Smelas with helping to pull out the win.

“Their senior leadership and having that experience has helped these younger girls,” added Gauronsky.

She also credited a great effort by guard Gabby Cinicola, “who has really stepped up her game as well.”

Cinicola easily topped her game average of 6.3 points by pouring in 19 points. Yuhas added 17 points.

For the Panthers, Maynard ended with 30 points - 21 in the first half.

“It’s a maturation process,” said Kovac about the season. “We made some mistakes that we shouldn’t have. In the third quarter, we went back to zone. That’s on me.”

“To start the second half, we got them to miss from the perimeter, which is what we wanted. But they got four possessions on one trip to the basket. You can’t win basketball games with a quality team like Jim Thorpe if you’re going to give up seven possessions.”

He especially praised the playing of JT’s guards - Cinicola and Sarah Hartman.

“Everybody was talking about Yuhas versus Maynard, and it’s a wonderful matchup to watch,” said Kovac. “Maddison was so special again tonight. She’s a special player. But you’ve got to give credit to the Thorpe guards. They really played hard.

“Hartman and Cinicola outplayed our backcourt a little bit. They’re not very big, but they’re two tough kids.”

ANXIOUS TO MEET AGAIN ... The two teams face each other again in Jim Thorpe on Jan. 16. “We’re looking forward to the rematch, because in a month we’re going to be better. But so are they,” said Kovac. “It’s a good rivalry. It’s fun. The place was electric tonight.”

NEXT UP ... The next game for Jim Thorpe is Tuesday at Lehighton. Panther Valley has a game again today, a non-league matchup at East Stroudsburg North.

COACH VERSUS STUDENT ... One of the things that makes the Panther Valley-Jim Thorpe games so much fun for the two coaches is that Gauronsky is a graduate of PV and was coached by Kovac. Also, Kovac was at Jim Thorpe and had coached some of the present players on the team.

AN EVEN MATCHUP ... It was an even matchup all around. From the floor, Thorpe shot 20-of-47 while PV was 17-of-45. In rebounding, the Olympians had 26 to the Panthers’ 25.

JIM THORPE

Cinicola 7-0-0-19, Hartman 2-0-2-4, Snisky 0-0-0-0, Smelas 4-1-3-11, Robinson 0-0-0-0, Yuhas 7-2-3-17. TOTALS: 20-3-9-51.

PANTHER VALLEY

Vermillion 1-0-0-3, Robin 3-0-0-8, Maynard 11-7-8-30, Orsulak 2-2-2-6, Yuricheck 0-0-0-0, McAndrew 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 17 9-10 47.

Jim Thorpe 17 14 16 4 - 51

Panther Vy. 16 13 10 8 - 47

Three pointers: Jim Thorpe - Cinacola 5, Smelas 2; Yuhas 1.; Panther Valley - Robin 2, Maynard 1, Vermillion 1.