Coming off two hard-earned victories over Northeast Bradford and Northern Lehigh in the first two rounds of the PIAA 2A state tournament, Marian will face another tough opponent in the quarterfinals.

The Fillies, the District 11 third-seed, will face District 6 champion Marion Center on Friday night at 7:30 at Bald Eagle High School in Bellefonte. The winner will head to the 2A state semifinal.

“I really like the fact that we are a battle-tested team,” said Marian head coach Damian Fritz. “We have had to face some tough opponents in the state playoffs, going on the road to Northeast Bradford’s place two hours away in the first round, and then playing a team that we recently lost to in Northern Lehigh in the second round. I also think we are playing a very physical brand of basketball right now.”

The Fillies (22-5) will face a Marion Center ball club that has been streaking in the postseason. The Stingers were not the favorite entering the District 6 tournament, but went on a run, defeating Southern Huntingdon 50-43 in the quarterfinals, stunning No. 1 seed Bishop McCort 58-57 in the semifinals and then taking care of business against No. 2 seed Portage 58-54 in the finals.

The Stingers (22-5) have also been impressive in their two state playoff games, defeating Winchester Thurston 54-33, and Montrose 46-22. Macie Miller and Natalie Black scored 12 points apiece in Marion Center’s first-round victory, while Lydia Miller led the way with 12 points and Mya Lipsie added 10 in the Stingers second-round win.

“Lydia Miller is their leader, and a great guard for them,” said Fritz. “She gets them going both offensively and defensively. And then her sister Macie Miller, who is just a freshman, has a really bright future. They both play with no fear and are always attacking.

“Underneath they have Mya Lipsie, who is a great shot blocker and rebounder, paired with Natalie Black, who is one of the more gifted post players that we have seen. She has great touch around the basket, and rarely doesn’t finish when she has good looks in the paint. And then on the defensive end, they’re going to play aggressive man-to-man.”

The Fillies will need to bounce back quickly after an instant classic in the second round against fellow District 11 foe Northern Lehigh that saw them come out on top 55-54. Marian was able to avenge a District 11 semifinal loss to the Bulldogs.

The Fillies showcased a new wrinkle on the defensive end against Northern Lehigh, going away from their usual zone trapping scheme, and playing straight man-to-man. The defensive switch - which forced 10 turnovers in the second half of that contest - paired with a Herculean effort from Marian 1,000-point scorer Carly Minchhoff, who scored a career-high 29 points - including five three-pointers - helped the Fillies survive and advance.

Addy Fritz (11.7 points per game, 28 three-pointers), Frankie Martinelli (10.8 ppg, 49 threes), Deanna Pugh (7.6 ppg) and Aliya Tikhtova (6.0 ppg) will all be counted on heavily as they have been throughout the season to put points on the board. Minchhoff leads the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game and seven rebounds per contest, and she has also knocked down 48 three-pointers. She currently sits at 1,124 career points.

“I’ve told Carly Minchhoff this numerous times throughout her whole career that I would go to battle with her any day of the week,” said Fritz. “She’s always going to give you her best. That performance against Northern Lehigh was one of the best performances I’ve seen from a girls basketball player in quite some time. We’re hoping it all carries over from Tuesday night.

“I think we did some nice things in the paint in that game, and we think we can get some of those things going again on Friday. Our offense really looks good when we take care of the ball and move the ball inside-out. And then defensively, we have to continue to play with relentless effort on every single possession.”