Palmerton and Panther Valley meet in a battle of area teams to highlight Saturday’s District 11 basketball playoff schedule.

In addition to the Class 3A boys battle between the Blue Bombers and Panthers, Marian will meet Lincoln Leadership in a 2A boys game, and Northwestern faces Blue Mountain in a 4A girls game.

BOYS BASKETBALL

District 11 Class 3A

No. 6 Panther Valley (13-9) vs.

No. 3 Palmerton (15-9)

Saturday, Feb. 24, 2:30 p.m. at Allen

LEADING OFF

Both teams have now qualified for District 11 tournament play seven straight seasons. This will be the third time during that stretch where they have played each other. A year ago, the Blue Bombers defeated the Panthers 72-50 in the quarterfinal round, while PV was victorious when the teams played in the semifinal round during the 2019-20 season.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Panther Valley - Chase Weaver (14.09 ppg), Stephen Hood (9.47 ppg), Logan Fisher (9.23), Drew Kokinda (8.5, 46 three-pointers).

Palmerton - Matt Machalik (22.25 ppg), Brayden Hosier (12.31, 59 three-pointers), Jacob Grammes (6.92 ppg).

BY THE NUMBERS

1 - The number of head coaches Panther Valley has had since 2002-03 when Pat Crampsie took over. Palmerton has had 10 head coaches over that same time span.

4 - When Saturday’s game starts, there will be four players on the floor who have reached 1,000 points in their career. Palmerton’s Machalik and Hosier have both reached the mark, as have PV’s Hood and Weaver.

6 - Palmerton’s longest winning streak this season, which matches Marian for the longest by an area boys team in 2023-24.

10 - The number of road wins by Panther Valley, the most among area boys teams. The Panthers are 10-3 as visitors and are just 3-6 in home games.

55 - Watch to see if Panther Valley reaches 55 points or not. The Panthers are 11-0 when scoring 55 points, but are just 2-9 when they don’t reach that total.

88 - Palmerton scored 88 points against Palisades on Jan. 15. That’s the most points by an area boys team in a game this season.

322 - Panther Valley has hit at least one three-pointer in 322 consecutive games - an area best. The last time PV didn’t connect from outside the arc was Feb. 13, 2010. The next longest streak is 210 by Marian.

534 - Palmerton’s Machalik has scored 534 points so far this season. That’s the most by a Blue Bomber boy since 1988-89 when Kyle Kratzer tallied 561.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

“We played one of our best games recently against Southern Columbia, and we are playing better basketball right now. (Palmerton’s) Matt Machalik is one of the best athletes in the history of District 11, so we know what we’re up against. We need to contain him and make him work. Palmerton is a really good team, and they took it to us last year. We’ll be aware of that.” – Panther Valley coach Pat Crampsie.

“The Notre Dame loss (in the Colonial League title game) was disappointing because we played very well. We played 27 minutes of very good basketball in that game, but we need to play 32 minutes of very good basketball if we want to be a great team. We played Panther Valley last year, and we watched film on them from this year. They have two good shooters in (Stephen) Hood and (Chase) Weaver. It should be a good matchup, and we have to be ready.” – Palmerton coach Joe Egan.

District 11 Class 2A

No. 6 Marian (13-9) vs.

No. 3 Lincoln Leadership (19-3)

Saturday, Feb. 24 at No. Lehigh, 1 p.m.

LEADING OFF

Marian has been a familiar face in the District 11 playoffs over the years, but the Colts will have their work cut out for them against a Lincoln Leadership team that handed them a decisive setback when the two teams met in a regular season game on Jan. 2.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Marian - Julius Currie (14.55 ppg), Jacob Miller (11.14 ppg), Jesse Rodino (10.86 ppg).

Lincoln Leadership - Isaac Sabater (12.6 ppg), Nicholas Estrella (11.5 ppg), Dwight Prud’homme (10.3 ppg).

BY THE NUMBERS

6 - Six different players have been the leading scorer in a Marian game this season, most by an area team. Those leading scorers include Currie, Miller, the Rodinos, AJ Thomas and Bruce Hopeck.

8 - Marian has guaranteed itself of a winning record this season. It marks the eighth straight year the Colts have done that - tops among area boys teams.

19 - This is the 19th consecutive season Marian has qualified for the District 11 playoffs. Unfortunately for the Colts, they’ve gone six straight years without posting a win with all six losses coming against a different opponent.

33 - The margin of defeat Marian suffered against Lincoln Leadership this season - the Colts largest this season. The last time Marian lost a game that badly was Feb. 4, 2014 against Mahanoy Area (79-23).

CLOSING THOUGHTS

“Their pressure certainly bothered us when we played them during the regular season. They’re very athletic, talented and well-coached. They try to speed you up and they want you to play at their pace. They jumped out on us early, had a big lead in the first quarter and we were never really able to overcome it. We have to do a better job of handling their pressure, and it’s important that we weather their initial storm and don’t let them jump out quickly once again. My boys are hungry and if we execute the way we can, I think we can be in the game down the stretch and find a way to win it.” - Marian coach Scott Murphy

GIRLS BASKETBALL

District 11 Class 4A

No. 4 Northwestern (19-6)

vs. No. 1 Blue Mountain (21-4)

Saturday, Feb. 24 at Martz Hall, 1 p.m.

LEADING OFF

The Tigers picked up a big win over Tamaqua in the semis, 47-29. Northwestern’s three-quarter-court pressure was the difference in the game, forcing 11 turnovers in the third quarter, and going on a 15-1 run. Cara Thomas scored 23 points in the win, and needs just six more to reach 1,000. Blue Mountain is one of the hottest team in D11. The Eagles are 16-1 in their last 17 games, and they’re coming off an always hard-earned Schuylkill League championship. NW did defeat Blue Mountain on Dec. 21, 49-47. The Tigers haven’t been to a district final in 16 years.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Blue Mountain – Kylie Conway (14.2 ppg, 22 3-pointers) Emily Heydt (6.4 ppg), Makayla Keck (6.4 ppg).

Northwestern – Cara Thomas (17.46 ppg); Brook Balliet (8.38 ppg); Emma Freeman (7.04 ppg), Olivia Reinhart (6.68 ppg).

BY THE NUMBERS

1 – Blue Mountain captured the first Schuylkill League championship in program history with a 30-19 victory over North Schuylkill in the title game last week.

8 – The number of times the Tigers’ Cara Thomas scored 20-plus in a game this season. Thomas had 23 points in Northwestern’s win over Tamaqua in the district quarterfinals Wednesday.

14 – The margin of victory a year ago when the Tigers knocked off Blue Mountain 50-36 in the District 11 Clas 4A consolation game that allowed the Tigers to reach the State playoffs.

19 – The number of times the Tigers have qualified for the district playoffs under the guidance of coach Chris Deutsch, who is currently in his 21st season with the program.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

“I’m really happy with the way we’re playing defense right now. We have really stepped up our defense here late in the season, and I think we’re playing our best defensive ball at the right time. Another good thing I’m seeing is that our younger players have been getting better, and really have gained a lot of good experience. I don’t think people realize we lost five of our top seven players from last season. Blue Mountain is a team that we’re very familiar with. We were fortunate to get a close win against them earlier in the season. I think it’s going to be another battle.” – Northwestern coach Chris Deutsch.