POTTSVILLE - Panther Valley turned in a valiant effort, one that had the Panthers within three points with half a minute to play against Minersville in Friday’s District 11 Class 2A quarterfinal contest.

The Miners, however, capped their eventual 61-54 victory by scoring 15 of their 24 fourth-quarter points from the foul line at Martz Hall.

With 32 seconds left to play, PV’s Kandace Krapf hit one of her three three-pointers in the period to cut the deficit to just 54-51. But a 7-1 run by Minersville closed out the win, which was spearheaded by Kacee Raczka - who tallied 13 of her game-high 25 points during the last eight minutes.

In the first quarter, the Miners shot just 4-of-16 from the floor to allow the Panthers within three points despite only registering two baskets in the period - one each from Krapf and Morgan Orsulak.

In the second, Panther Valley (14-10) finished the period with a one-point lead at 22-21, highlighted by a driving layup with an underhand scoop by Maddison Maynard.

The game remained close despite the Battlin’ Miners shooting just 21% from the floor in the first half. There were four ties, nine lead changes, and the largest lead was held by seventh-seeded Panther Valley when Maynard scored on a turnaround bank shot to finish a 9-0 run that put her team ahead by 33-24 with 4:30 left to go in the third.

Minersville was paced by two three-pointers by Brooke Kopinetz and a running one-hander by Taylor Conti.

The Miners (20-3) stormed back, and Taylor Conti’s basket with 52 seconds left in the third tied the game at 37 heading into the fourth.

“They killed us on the boards, especially Raczka,” Panther Valley head coach Rob Kovac said. “We rarely could get more than one shot, and on the other end they had multiple shots to try to score.”

Orsulak opened the scoring in the fourth with a layup to give the Panthers what would be their last lead in the game. PV would also get two baskets from Maynard, along with the three triples from Krapf, but five costly turnovers by Panther Valley allowed Minersville more possessions that ultimately turned the tide in their favor.

“Once again, our size hurt us and then we got into foul trouble,” said Kovac.

PV put on a full court press with five minutes left with the Black and Gold trailing, 46-42, but it was Minersville’s defense that created multiple changes of possessions by causing turnovers.

“We led a good chunk of the way and took a 19-win team to the wire. I think we ran out of gas, but give Minersville credit. They are a really good team,” said Kovac.

Kovac reflected on his team’s season.

“We have a great bunch of kids, and we got better as the season went on. Maddison Maynard held us above water until the rest of the team caught up. We’re still a very young team, and we look forward to competing at a high level again next year.”

KUDOS TO THE CLOCKMAN … Mike Kiehner has been operating the game clock at Martz Hall for the past 42 years and he thrilled the crowd by singing a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner before the opening tip off.

MADDISON MAGIC … Panther Valley’s Maddison Maynard featured an array of shots during the game. Her team-leading 20 points were scored on turnaround jumpers, driving layups, bank shots, and shooting 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.

THE DIFFERENCE MAKER … The outcome of the game was essentially determined at the foul line. Panther Valley made 11-of-15 free throws, while Minersville went 24-of-33.

UP NEXT ... Minersville advances to Tuesday’s semifinal round, where it will face third-seeded Schuylkill Haven.

PANTHER VALLEY

Maynard 7-6-6-20, Orsulak 6-5-7-17, Krapf 4-0-0-11, Vermillion 2-0-2-6, Kocha 0-0-0-0, Breslin 0-0-0-0, Yuricheck 0-0-0-0, McAndrew 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 19-11-15-54.

MINERSVILLE

Raczka 7-8-14-25, Kopinetz 5-8-11-21, Conti 2-8-8-13, Brennan 1-0-0-2, Cullen -0-0-0-0, Burgess 0-0-0-0, Castle 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-24-33-61.

Panther Valley 8 14 15 17 - 54

Minersville 11 10 16 24 - 61

Three- pointers: Panther Valley - Krapf 3, Vermillion 2; Minersville - Kopinetz 3, Raczka 3, Conti 1.