Marian is back to defend its Christmas Tournament championship.

Now in its second year, the Fillies jumped out early and never looked back, blitzing Jim Thorpe 48-20 on Friday to advance to this evening’s 5 p.m. title game against Oley Valley, which cruised past Minersville in the other semifinal.

The Jeff Onushco era has arrived with a new look for the Fillies. Onushco, who previously served as head coach at Penn State Hazleton, was ushered in quickly after Jeanette Shafer-Barron departed a month into her tenure.

It wasn’t a work of art, but Marian did what it needed to do, taking control offensively behind Addy Marek, DeAnna Pugh, Brooke Hannis-Miskar and Katie Knock. The quartet combined for 42 points. Marek and Pugh led the way with 13 points apiece, while Hannis-Miskar and Knock added eight each.

Jim Thorpe was paced by Brooklyn Yuhas, who was stellar in the loss with 12 points. Yuhas stood out throughout the afternoon and, at one point, accounted for all of the Olympians’ scoring through the early stages of the third quarter.

Onushco’s primary concern afterward centered on defense.

“I come from the Coach Paul Brutto school — defense first,” Onushco said of the longtime state coaching staple, now leading the Colts program. “That’s something we’re going to learn and execute better. That’s something these kids are going to have to understand, and that’s going to be our identity.”

There was little sustained threat from the young Olympians. Jim Thorpe trailed 13-7 after one quarter, with Yuhas scoring all seven of her team’s points.

Marian opened the game on an 8-2 run as Marek hit a free throw, Knock buried a 3-pointer, Haley Minzola stole a pass and raced to the basket for a layup, and Pugh capped the spurt.

Jim Thorpe attempted to disrupt Marian’s offense by boxing Marek.

“We knew they were going to come out with some kind of junk defense,” Onushco explained. “So they came out in a box-and-one on Addy. We told them that when a team does that, they’re telling the rest of you, you can’t shoot.”

Marek and Knock closed the opening quarter with a 3-pointer and a layup to extend the lead to 13-7.

From there, the Olympians struggled to generate offense. Their lone point in the second quarter came on a Yuhas free throw, while Pugh and Marek guided Marian to a 21-8 halftime lead. Pugh scored five of those points.

The momentum carried into the third quarter as the Fillies rolled off a 13-4 run. Marek sparked the rally with five points before Hannis-Miskar found her rhythm, draining a 3-pointer and converting a putback. Pugh added a free throw, and Marek knocked down her second 3 of the quarter to push the lead to 34-17.

“I liked that we got some steals and transition points,” Onushco said. “I told those kids — Hannis-Miskar, Knock, Minzola — they’re going to have to step up when a team takes away our two best players. You’ve got to prove you’re good enough to make them pay for playing that defense.”

Marian extended its cushion to 46-17 in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. Pugh fueled the run with three baskets, including one off a steal, while Knock and Marek each drilled a 3-pointer.

“We held them to 20, but I’m still not too happy with that,” Onushco said. “We gave up too many drives. We did miss some layups, but that’s not going to happen often.”

EXPERIENCE ... “Getting to know them has been key,” Onushco said. “We have some players who didn’t play much last year, and it’s going to take time.” Marian returns just two veteran starters from last season.

ONLY A FEW DAYS ... Onushco noted he’s had only a few days of practice with the team, and the acclimation period is ongoing.

OLYMPIANS RISING ... Yuhas finished with 12 points and a team-high 17 rebounds, including 10 in the second quarter. Olivia Snisky and Ciera Lees are young players with potential, and Onushco said he liked what he saw from the opposition.

BY THE NUMBERS ... Marian shot 19-for-65 from the field and committed 10 turnovers. Jim Thorpe finished 7-for-39 shooting and committed 26 turnovers.

JIM THORPE

Lees 0-1-2-1, Yuhas 5-1-2-12, Snisky 2-2-2-7, Confer 0-0-0-0, Garritano 0-0-0-0, Wentz 0-0-0-0, Strohl 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 7-4-6-20.

MARIAN

Bushati 0-0-0-0, Pugh 6-0-2-13, Minzola 3-0-2-6, Hannis-Miskar 3-0-0-8, Knock 3-0-0-8, Kwon 0-0-0-0, Decosmo 0-0-0-0, Marek 4-2-6-13. TOTALS: 19-2-10-48.

Jim Thorpe 7 1 9 3 - 20

Marian 13 8 13 14 - 48

Three-pointers: Jim Thorpe - Yuhas 1, Snisky 1; Marian - Marek 3, Hannis-Miskar 2, Knock 2, Pugh 1.

Records: Jim Thorpe (0-8); Marian (4-3).