POTTSVILLE - Martz magic?

North Schuylkill certainly hopes so.

The Spartans kept their mastery of the Mecca alive Thursday night, turning back Tamaqua 42-37 in the Schuylkill League semifinals.

North Schuylkill’s success on the big stage at Martz Hall means the Spartans will try to secure their fourth league title in five years.

“This year’s team it totally different than last year’s team,” said North Schuylkill coach Rich Wetzel, who watched his squad beat Marian in overtime to claim the championship last season. “We went five years in a row where we scored 60 (average points per game). This year we don’t have that. We have to win on the defensive end. Our motto is, if we can hold them under 40 points, 95% of the time we probably have a chance to win.”

Both sides brought intensity and effort in a contest where the lead changed hands on a regular basis throughout the first half.

A 7-2 run midway through the third quarter helped the Blue Raiders take a 28-27 lead - a run that was capped by a three from Sarah Hope (10 points) and featured tough defense and a tremendous outlet pass from Kolbe Robb to Kendle Miller after a turnover to tie the game at 25-25.

The Spartans (19-3) answered on a basket from Eve Shovlin (nine points) near the 2:30 mark to retake the lead, and got a clutch three from senior Olivia Burke (game-high 15 points) near the end of the period to push the advantage to 32-28.

A three from Haley Koutch early in the fourth gave North Schuylkill its largest lead of the contest at seven points. But Tamaqua (17-8) ripped off a 5-0 run, capped by Robb’s basket off a turnover to make it 35-33.

Another steal from Robb, who had six points and five takeaways, and a layup made it 40-37 with under a minute to play.

The Blue Raiders continued to pressure, with Hope coming up with a steal down the stretch, free throw opportunities and a potential game-tying shot. But North Schuylkill was able to hold on, as Koutch, a senior, connected on her final two free throws attempts with 10.2 seconds to play to seal the win.

“We don’t have one star player, we have good balance within our team,” said Blue Raiders coach Erika Davis. “When the five on the floor and our bench are getting into it and all on the same page, we’re hard to beat. And our defense has created our offense for us. We have a lot to build off of.”

This Tamaqua team has had some magic of its own, knocking off Panther Valley in a tiebreaker to qualify for the league playoffs and dispatching a Minersville team it lost to by 25 points previously to advance to the semifinals.

The Blue Raiders lost to North Schuylkill twice during the season - including a 20-point setback in the season opener. But Davis has seen her team close the gap, and establish itself as a contender in the postseason.

“It’s hard to beat a team three times,” Davis said of North Schuylkill, which topped Tamaqua 58-45 Jan. 15. “We knew them very well, they knew us very well. We were able to learn from our first game to our second and get better, and from our second game to our third game and improve. We were going to come in swinging, and we battled hard for 32 (minutes). We just came up short.”

Freshman Lauren Ligenza was a force on the glass for the Blue Raiders and finished with a double-double, scoring 14 points and finishing with 12 rebounds. She had five points in the first quarter when the game was tied 9-9.

“She’s getting a lot of experience right now in big games, which will only help down the line,” said Davis. “We forget how young she is, but at the same time, it’s basketball, so that goes out the window. But from the start of the season to now, she’s definitely improved and she just continues to get better and better, and we’re hoping these close games are learning situations for her as well down the stretch.”

FAMILIAR FOE

... The Spartans will play Blue Mountain tonight at 6 p.m. at Martz Hall in the final. The teams split their regular season meetings, and both were 13-1 in Division 1 play.

FABULOUS 40

... The Spartans have allowed over 40 points five times this season and gone 4-1 in those contests. Their other two losses came when surrendering fewer than 40 points, suffering a 33-26 setback to Blue Mountain Jan. 18 and a 39-28 loss to Williamsport Feb. 3.

UP NEXT

... Tamaqua will prepare for the District 11 playoffs with its spot secure in the Class 4A field, where the Blue Raiders might see North Schuylkill again.

TAMAQUA

Robb 3-0-0-6, S. Plasha 0-1-8-1, Ligenza 3-8-11-14, Hope 4-0-0-10, L. Plasha 2-0-0-4, Miller 1-0-0-2, Bartenope 0-0-0-0, Black 0-0-2-0. TOTALS: 13-9-21-37.

NORTH SCHUYLKILL

Burke 6-2-3-15, Conti 3-0-0-7, Shovlin 4-1-2-9, Ferrari 1-1-1-3, Koutch 2-2-4-7, Kane 0-0-0-0, Flynn 0-1-2-1. TOTALS: 16-7-12-42.

Tamaqua 9 6 13 9 - 37

North Schuylkill 9 10 13 10 - 42

Three-pointers: Tamaqua - Hope 2; North Schuylkill - Burke 1, Conti 1, Koutch 1.