The drought is over.

The past four years have been a struggle for the Tamaqua girls’ basketball team in its annual Tip-Off Tournament.

That finally came to an end Saturday afternoon when the Blue Raiders staved off a late charge from Catasauqua en route to claiming a 44-36 victory.

As much as the win was rejuvenating, it could also provide a big psychological boost going forward.

After all, Tamaqua struggled all season to find wins a year ago - finishing just 6-16.

After the opening weekend of the season, the Blue Raiders are already one-third of the way to matching that win total.

“Any time that we can get a win, it builds self-confidence,’ said Tamaqua coach Erika Davis. “We’re not perfect, we’re far from it, but this helps to maybe start a bit of a roll moving forward,”

Tamaqua (2-0) got perhaps its biggest boost on Saturday midway through the final quarter.

Catty (1-1) was making a serious charge after trailing by seven points (33-26) at the start of the final eight minutes. Speedy guard Hailey Jenkins teamed with rangy Delany Troxell to trim the lead to 35-34.

The momentum swing was evident.

But then Tamaqua’s Kendell Miller let fly with a shot from the corner. Swish! Triple! It was the biggest shot of the contest, as it helped the Raiders regain the momentum.

Miller’s trey was not lost on either coach.

“We kind of lost her, and that was a crucial three,” said Catasauqua coach Mark Seremula.

“That was a big play from Kendell,” Barron said. “She was our big scorer on Friday. I think she had tired legs, but she came through at the end.”

An early first-quarter spurt by Tamaqua enabled it to take an 11-9 lead. Lorrel Plasha had four points in the period to lead the Raiders.

Miller, Lorrel Plasha, Makayla Bartenope and Samantha Plasha helped Tamaqua reel off an 7-0 run to start the second quarter, but Catty regrouped as it turned to Troxell, Jenkins and Sophia Becker to cut the deficit to 18-16.

Tamaqua slapped a pair of rallies together in the second half to take a double-digit lead. It nailed six quick points to open the half, and then used strong play from both Lauren Ligenza and Sarah Hope to extend its lead to 33-22.

“Sometimes, we do things and look pretty good,” said Davis. “But we’re still learning what it takes to play a consistent 32 minutes of basketball because there are other times we get in our own way.”

To prove that point, Tamaqua committed five turnovers in the first four minutes of the final quarter. Catty got a breath of fresh air, closing the gap before Miller’s triple turned things around.

That set the stage for Tamaqua to get back on track as Ligenza got a great assist from Miller, Kolbe Robb nailed a shot, and Hope converted a pair from the foul line.

Those points sacked any comeback hopes Catty may have had.

“I liked our intensity, and the way we hustled,” Davis said. “But we’ve got to clean some things up … which we will.”

One thing is for sure - Tamaqua is in a better position after the opening weekend than it has been in several seasons.

STRONG WORK … Tamaqua has a pair of very solid guards in Robb and Hope. It also hits the glass, and is aggressive..

SHE’S A PLAYER … Catty guard Jenkins is a player. Her coach said the 5-4 senior may be the best in the Lehigh Valley. You’ll get no argument from the Raiders.

STRONG DEFENSE Tamaqua’s Miller was tenacious on defense with six steals.

CATASAQUA

Bear 1-0-0-2, H. Jenkins 7-3-6-17, Troxell 5-0-0-11, H. Jenkins 0-0-0-0, Soltis 0-0-0-0, Martinez 0-0-0-0, Becker 2-2-2-6. TOTALS: 15-5-8-36.

TAMAQUA

Robb 3-0-0-6, S. Plasha 0-2-2-2, Ligenza 3-1-2-7, Hope 4-2-2-11, L. Plasha 5-0-4-10, Miller 2-0-2-6, Bartenope 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 18-5-14-44.

Catasauqua 9 7 10 10 - 36

Tamaqua 11 7 15 11 - 44

Three-pointers: Catasauqua - Troxell; Tamaqua - Miller 2, Hope 1.