Panther Valley was a heartbeat away from pulling off a major upset Tuesday night in Schuylkill Girls’ Basketball League Division 1 play.

The Panthers needed one 3-pointer in the waning seconds against battle-tested Tamaqua.

Instead, the Blue Raiders showed grit and got clutch defense from unsung contributor Makenna Ellington to secure a 47-44 victory.

Tamaqua consistently found ways to keep Panther Valley from completing the upset.

Raiders coach Erika Davis knew it would be a tight game.

“This is such a rivalry — PV always finds a way to play us tough,” Davis said. “It’s a credit to them, they didn’t go away… it was pretty at one time, ugly at the next.”

The Raiders looked sharp early in the third quarter, sparked by senior Kendal Miller. After a quiet first half, Miller found her rhythm and stretched Tamaqua’s lead to 35-25 with a scoring burst that included her trademark 3-point shooting.

“That’s the mental part of it, you’ve got to want the ball,” Davis said, referring to Miller’s early struggles from beyond the arc. “Shooters shoot, when you aren’t knocking one down… shooters shoot.”

Miller finished with 13 points, seven in the second half. Still, the focal point of Panther Valley’s defense was Lauren Ligenza, Tamaqua’s standout junior.

“She is such a great player, we threw all kinds of junk defense at her, but she is so great she is hard to (contain),” Panther Valley coach Rob Kovac said of Ligenza.

Despite constant attention, the 6-foot junior led all scorers with 17 points and added nine rebounds.

“Her mental toughness tonight… the whole world knows how proud I am of her,” Davis said. “She made great plays off the ball and on the ball.”

Ligenza’s presence opened opportunities for others.

“I thought Leah Black played a great game… she got big boards, she just knows the game, a very smart player.”

Panther Valley stayed within striking distance throughout. Ligenza scored seven points in the first quarter — all from the foul line — and added three baskets in the second. Kovac adjusted his defensive plan early, throwing multiple looks at her.

“Give Tamaqua credit, Ligenza is so tough to guard she got off to (that) start early so we switched to some junk,” Kovac said. “(Then) Miller hurt us with some 3s… if you would have told me before the game Miller was going to hurt us with a bunch of 3s and Ligenza, that’s a big task… but our kids had no quit. We had a bunch of chances… we’re on the verge of becoming okay.”

The Panthers had several strong moments. Trailing 25-18 late in the first half, Ajete Gjoca drained a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to four.

Tamaqua opened the second half with momentum and a 10-point lead, but Panther Valley responded behind freshman Ace Aponte, Lucy Kocha and Morgan Orsulak.

Kocha led Panther Valley with 17 points, scoring 14 in the second half. She was perfect from the free-throw line in the half, and added a 3-pointer. Orsulak scored five of her 11 points in the third quarter as the Panthers closed the gap.

Tamaqua held a 45-39 lead with 3:58 remaining. Orsulak followed with a strong move inside, and Kocha nailed a 3-pointer with 1:41 left to pull Panther Valley within 47-44.

The Raiders slowed the pace with a delay offense over the final three minutes, stalling Panther Valley’s momentum. A late scramble for a loose ball ended with Ellington coming up with possession despite suffering an eye cut, sealing the win in the final seconds.

“We knew they weren’t going away, kudos to them,” Davis said while praising Ellington’s effort. “I was very proud of the way we responded.”

ALL OUT ... Panther Valley played with full effort after falling behind in the second half, but Tamaqua found a way to win with toughness.

COUNT IT UP ... Tamaqua shot 16-for-47 from the field and committed seven turnovers. Panther Valley shot 14-for-40 and also had seven turnovers. Rebounding was nearly even, with the Raiders holding a 36-34 edge. Kocha led the Panthers with six rebounds.

TAMAQUA

Osenbach 0-0-0-0, M. Black 2-1-2-5, Ellington 3-0-0-6, Ligenza 4-9-15-17, Miller 4-2-6-13, L. Black 3-0-2-6, Gormley 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 16-12-25-47.

PANTHER VALLEY

Gjoca 2-0-0-4, Kocha 4-6-6-17, K. Breslin 0-0-0-0, Aponte 4-1-2-9, Blazosky 0-0-0-0, C. Breslin 1-0-0-3, Orsulak 3-5-8-11, Carrasquillo 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 14-12-16-44.

Tamaqua 16 9 17 5 - 47

Panther Vy. 11 10 15 8 - 44

Three-pointers: Tamaqua - Miller 3; PV - Kocha 3, C. Breslin 1.

Records: Tamaqua (9-3; 4-2); Panther Valley (4-6; 1-5).