A modest three-game winning streak can have a significant effect upon a basketball program that has not had a recent history of success.

Friday night’s 54-36 win over Lehighton has done just that for Panther Valley.

“We’re building confidence,” said PV head coach Rob Kovac. “Our kids are believing in themselves and are playing for each other.”

After both teams combined for six turnovers in the early stages of the game, the Panthers jumped out to an 11-2 lead on Maddison Maynard’s left-handed putback with 3:20 left in the first period.

Lehighton battled back and trailed 13-9 on Taylor Bowman’s jump shot in the final seconds of the first.

In the second, Panther Valley’s zone defense forced the Tribe outside - where they were able to score only one basket in the entire eight minutes. A layup by Lehighton’s Bowman cut the margin to two points but the Black and Gold went on a 13- 1 run to lead by 14 heading into the second half.

The Panthers’ surge was led by two three-pointers from senior Sera Robin and four points from Maynard on driving layups. Maynard led all scorers in the game with 21 points.

Lehighton mentor Joe Berezwick made no excuses for his team’s 12-for-49 shooting from the floor, but he pointed to a series of bad luck they’ve had this year.

“We’ve been snake bitten, having lost three starters for the season with injuries,” Berezwick said. “While that gives our younger players a chance to gain experience, it’s tough to match their scoring, especially with Maynard. We tried to double team her, but that left others open for shots and they proved they can make them.”

Despite outscoring the Indians (4-10; 2-5) by only four points in the second half, PV and the double-digit lead was never in jeopardy.

Freshman Morgan Orsulak dominated the boards while scoring 11 points in the contest. With Maynard slashing to the basket, Orsulak being a force inside and Robin a deep three threat, Panther Valley (8-5; 3-4) has become a team that can beat opponents in a variety of ways.

Regardless of the one-sided victory, Kovac wasn’t ready to admit this was the most complete game they have played thus far this season.

“We had a tough time finding some flow in our offense at the beginning of the game,” said Kovac. “Give credit to Joe (Berezwick) for disrupting our rhythm. Once we got settled, our transition game worked well because we defended better.”

Berezwick was realistic in his assessment of his team’s performance.

“They (Panther Valley) were the better team, for sure,” Berezwick said. “Every team has ups and downs during the season and for us, we’re still trying to figure out how to bring a consistency to our game.”

On the other side of the court, Coach Kovac mentioned that his team was in the progress of knowing who they are.

“I believe with the confidence our kids are playing with and the chemistry we have shown, we are beginning to find our identity,” said Kovac.

BOMBS AWAY … Although Lehighton was plagued with poor shooting throughout the game, five of their 12 field goals were behind the three-point line. Freshman Olivia Serfass led her team with two with Ariel Barthol, Jordan Haley, and Leah Vyrari adding one apiece.

13S ON FRIDAY THE 13TH ... The so-called unlucky number was not so for Panther Valley. They scored 13 points in both the first and second periods and Maynard - who wears number 13 on her jersey - scored 13 of her 21 points in the first half.

CLOSE KNIT ... The Panthers take their three-game winning streak to Jim Thorpe on Monday night to take on the Olympians, where Kovac had coached for several years after he left PV in his first stint at the school. One of his players then was JT coach Nadia Gauronsky.

LEHIGHTON

Serfass 3-3-4-11, Barthol 1-0-0-3, Haley 2-1-2-6, Klotz 1-1-2-3, Uyvari 1-0-0-3, Trotman 0-0-0-0, Bowman 3-0-0-6, Wojton 0-0-0-0, Hauser 1-2-2-4. TOTALS: 12-7-10-36.

PANTHER VALLEY

Shreffler 0-0-0-0, Krapf 0-0-0-0, Vermillion 2-0-0-6, Robin 4-0-0-11, Maynard 9-2-6-21, Breslin 0-0-0-0, Orsulak 4-3-4-11, O’Brien 0-0-0-0, Yuricheck 2-1-2-5, McAndrew 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 21-6-12-54.

Lehighton 9 3 10 14 - 36

Panther Valley 13 13 16 12 - 54

Three-pointers: Lehighton - Serfass 2, Barthol 1, Haley 1, Uyvari 1; Panther Valley - Robin 3, Vermillion 2, Maynard 1.