POTTSVILLE - It wasn’t looking good for the Tamaqua girls at halftime.

Trailing heavily-favored Minersville by eight points in the quarterfinal round of the Schuylkill League playoffs on Saturday, not many gave the Blue Raiders a chance.

But this squad of gutty and courageous players found a way to do what few thought was possible - upset the Miners 48-42 and advance to the league semifinals.

The shocking result - maybe not to the Tamaqua players - was part of a round that saw the six-team field whittled down to the Final Four. The teams left are the Raiders, North Schuylkill, Blue Mountain and Marian.

It didn’t look like Tamaqua would be part of that quartet, considering the start.

The Raiders managed just seven first-quarter points, got into all kinds of foul trouble, and witnessed a controversial three-pointer to end the half. As the buzzer sounded and the red lights came on, the question was whether the ball had been released in time.

The call was it had, much to the dislike of Tamaqua faithful, which resulted in the eight-point Minersville advantage, 28-20.

Sarah Hope, Tamaqua’s senior leader who would finish with a team-high 17 points, talked about the play.

“We were angry about the three-point shot at halftime,” said Hope, whose team lost to Minersville 64-39 Jan. 27. “That kind of fired us up.”

The message from Raider head coach Erika Davis was taken to heart by her players.

“Let’s control what we can control,” said Davis. “Let’s control what we can control. Keep our heads, and our composure, because things weren’t going our way beyond our control.”

Freshman standout Lauren Ligenza got the Raiders going in the second half, converting a three-point play the old fashioned way. Shortly after, Kolbe Robb bolted to the basket for two more points.

Seconds later, however, Robb was whistled for her fourth foul trying to force a turnover.

“I was a little nervous when she went out,” said Hope. “But I knew that we could pull together as a team.”

Undaunted despite their point guard being forced to the bench, the Raiders did pull together. Hope buried a triple, Samantha Plasha and Leah Black both sank free throws, and Hope drove to the basket for another score.

Just like that, Tamaqua was smack-dab in the middle of a contested battle, down by a mere point, 34-33. The Raiders outscored Minersville, which loves to live or die by the three-pointer, in the quarter by a 14-8 margin to set up a thrilling final period.

Minersville’s Kaycee Raczka scored three quick points early in the fourth, but Hope later drained a trey to tie the game. Robb assisted on Ligenza’s basket to put the Raiders ahead for the first time, 40-39.

“I think it was nerves in the beginning,” said Ligenza about trying to keep Raczka from getting rebounds. “I made it my goal to play (better) defense in the second half.”

The Miners, as good teams do, countered when Brooke Kopintez knocked down her third three-pointer of the contest to put the Division 2 champs back on top. But it would be the last time they would lead.

Tamaqua was sharp down the stretch and seemed unfazed by the moment. Robb’s scintillating play resulted in a pair of baskets, while Black hit from the charity stripe again.

Fittingly, Robb used her quickness to steal a pass, then calmly drained two foul shots to set the final score - and punch a berth to the semifinals.

“Right now, we are playing at a higher level on the big stage,” said Hope.

COMEBACK ... While the halftime deficit was eight, Tamaqua actually trailed by as many as 13 points. With 3:53 to play in the second quarter, Minersville was on top by a 24-11 score.

SCORERS ... The Miners’ Taylor Conti led all scorers with 23 points, which included seven three-pointers. Kopintez added 11. Outside of Hope’s team-leading 17 points for the Raiders, Robb finished with 14 despite having to sit out most of the third quarter due to foul trouble.

BOARD WORK ... Black and Kendle Miller each had five rebounds for Tamaqua, which finished with 27. Minersville had 30 boards, led by Raczka’s nine and Keera Brennan’s eight.

UP AHEAD ... The Raiders, who are now 17-7, will face North Schuylkill in the semifinals on Tuesday, weather permitting. Minersville (19-4) returns to action when the district playoffs begin.

TAMAQUA

Hope 5-5-8-17, Robb 5-3-6-14, S. Plasha 3-0-2-6, Ligenza 2-1-1-5, L. Plasha 0-2-2-2, Miller 0-2-2-2, Black 0-2-4-2. TOTALS: 15-15-25-48.

MINERSVILLE

Conti 8-0-0-23, Kopinetz, 4-0-0-11, Castle 1-0-2-3, Raczka 0-3-6-3, Brennan 1-0-2-2, Burgess 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 14-3-10-42.

Tamaqua 7 13 15 13 - 48

Minersville 12 16 8 6 - 42

Three-pointers: Tamaqua - Hope 2, Robb 1; Minersville - Conti 7, Kopinetz 3, Castle 1.