The chase is on.

The Tamaqua girls basketball basketball team is smack dab in the middle of the Schuylkill League Division I race.

This Blue Raider team has come a long way from a season past when it was fighting just to keep its collective heads above water.

With the home stretch of the 2023-24 season fast approaching, this band of Raiders is looking like a contender after yet another solid outing.

Friday night, Tamaqua stayed hot with a 51-39 victory over Pine Grove.

The win keeps the Raiders just a step behind Division 1 leading North Schuylkill as they improved to 10-1 overall and 4-1 league play. Tamaqua is currently tied with Blue Mountain (4-1, 8-3) for second place. Meanwhile, Pine Grove slips to 3-9 overall and 1-3 in league play.

Tamaqua didn’t set the house on fire early as it fell behind 12-9, before rallying for a 19-14 lead. It maintained that five-point advantage at half (25-20).

“I thought we were a little sloppy in the first half,” said Tamaqua coach Erika Davis. “We were kind of standing around, not moving our bodies.”

But the juices started to flow for Tamaqua to open the second half. The surge was fueled by the Raiders’ two spitfire guards - Sarah Hope and Kolbie Robb.

Hope and Robb stepped it up defensively, which in turn ignited the offense.

“Those two do a great job for us,” Davis said. “They get us going. When we run our sets it all comes down to Sarah and Kolbie.”

Indeed they were the catalyst as Tamaqua raced in front 43-26 after three quarters of play.

The Raiders bagged six unanswered points to start the second half, the first bucket came from Lorelei Plasha with Robb and Hope following. Addison Zimmerman interrupted the run with a fielder for the Cardinals, but thereafter it all pointed in the Raiders’ favor.

Tamaqua finished the quarter with a 12-2 run. Kendell Miller zipped in a trey and a pair of deuces, and Lauren Ligenza stuck in trey as the Raiders were never in serious trouble from that point forward.

“Once we got the ball moving a lot of things opened up for us,” Davis said.

When asked about freshman Ligenza, who had a huge double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds, Davis added, “She can hit the inside and outside shots, she’s a tough matchup for defenses. But she also has a good surrounding cast around her.”

If things continue to motor along, you can bet this band of Raiders will be looking to earn a spot in the Schuylkill League post season tournament.

“We’ve got a good group ... everyone knows their role,” Davis said.

SHOOTING IT UP… Backing up Ligenza for Tamaqua was Lorelei Plasha with 10 points. Pine Grove was led by Marissa Stewart’s 11 and Ayla Schneck-Haines’ 10.

GLASS CLEANING … Tamaqua had a dominating night in the paint collecting 39 rebounds, while the Cardinals had just 17. Besides Ligenza’s 13, Miller added seven.

ON THE FLOOR … You have to love the way Hope and Robb ignite the Raiders on both ends of the floor.. Hope had four assists, while Robb collected five steals.

SWEEP… Tamaqua breezed to a 28-11 win in the JV game. Leah Black snagged a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Raiders.

PINE GROVE

Umbenhauer 1-0-0-2, Leffler 0-2-2-2, Zimmerman 2-2-2-7, Leininger 2-2-4-7, Flynn 0-0-0-0, Stewart 4-1-2-11, Schneck-Haines 4-2-2-10. TOTALS: 13-9-12-39.

TAMAQUA

Robb 2-3-4-7, S. Plasha 0-1-2-1, Ligenza 9-1-4-20, Hope 2-2-4-6, L. Plasha 4-2-4-10, Miller 3-0-0-7, Bartenope 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 20-9-18-51.

Pine Grove 14 6 6 13 - 39

Tamaqua 19 6 18 8 - 51

Three-pointers: Pine Grove - Stewart 2, Zimmerman 1, Leininger 1. Tamaqua - Ligenza 1, Miller 1.