WILLIAMSTOWN — Suddenly, the Schuylkill Girls Basketball League Division 2 has an unexpected contender.

At the start of the season, the idea of Marian competing for a spot in the six-team league tournament seemed far-fetched. The Fillies were dealing with personal losses, coaching changes and early struggles. Now, the Phoenix has risen.

Marian clawed its way to within one win of a tournament berth with a 39-31 upset of Williams Valley on Thursday night.

Coach Jeff Onushco called it his “most gratifying win ever.”

Just weeks earlier, the Vikings (6-6) rolled past Marian 48-28 on the Fillies’ home floor. This time, Marian flipped the script with relentless defense and timely scoring.

The Fillies limited Williams Valley to just two points in the third quarter, holding the Vikings to 1-for-8 shooting in the period. Offense was sometimes uneven, but the defense never let Williams Valley gain momentum.

Quin Smeltz opened the third quarter by breaking a 19-19 tie. Brooke Hannis-Miskar followed with a steal and coast-to-coast layup. Deanna Pugh then drilled a 3-pointer, and with five seconds left in the quarter, added a floater to give Marian its first lead since early in the first quarter, 26-21.

“That’s why we call her Mighty Mouse — she was down on herself at halftime, and she hit those huge shots,” Onushco said. “I said, ‘Deanna you’ve got to shoot the ball, and she said ‘I can’t,’ I said I have a dictionary in my pocket and can’t isn’t in my dictionary.’”

Sophomore Addy Marek led Marian with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

“We had just enough offense at the right time,” Onushco said. “We played hard — a lot of young kids … we make mistakes at times. When you have kids that listen, good things happen. They followed the game plan. Addy (Marek) was steady the whole game, and Brooke hit a huge three.”

Hannis-Miskar’s 3-pointer came two minutes after Hailey Minzola scored inside, giving Marian a 29-23 lead with 6:24 left. Williams Valley responded as Malory Miller hit three free throws, and baskets by Ella Kobularik and Ireland Kasper tied the game at 29 with 5:01 remaining.

Hannis-Miskar answered again with another 3-pointer, and Marian never relinquished the lead.

“We just needed to win, I was trying to keep all of our team focused,” Marek said. “Brooke’s shot was so big. Last time we played them, we didn’t have that energy, but we were confident this time.”

Pugh echoed that sentiment.

“Our energy boost was insane. Our defense was way better this time.”

That energy showed down the stretch. After Hannis-Miskar’s three-pointer, Pugh scored on a drive, Minzola finished off a crisp assist from Hannis-Miskar, and Pugh sealed the win with two free throws with 56 seconds left for a 38-31 lead.

“Every player had a hand in this win,” Onushco said.

Marian never let the Vikings take control. Even after trailing 17-11 midway through the second quarter, Pugh and Marek steadied the Fillies. Marek scored the final four points of the half to tie the game at 19.

Marian is now one win away from a berth in the league playoffs and will host Shenandoah Valley on Monday.

ALMOST IN ... Marian’s win all but eliminated Williams Valley from contention for the No. 3 seed. The Vikings fell to 6-6, but will be favored at Weatherly on Monday. Shenandoah Valley (7-5) plays Sunday at Mahanoy Area.

THE UNSUNG ... Minzola, Katie Knock and Gia Decosmo all made key plays for the Fillies.

KEEPING IN CHECK ... Marian held Miller and Smeltz to a combined 20 points.

BY THE NUMBERS ... Marian shot 16-for-35 from the field, and missed just two shots in the fourth quarter. The Fillies held Williams Valley to one field goal in the third quarter, and 11-for-48 shooting overall. Both teams finished with 28 rebounds, including 11 by Marek.

MARIAN

Marek 7-2-2-17, Pugh 4-2-2-12, Hannis-Miskar 2-0-0-5, Minzola 1-0-0-2, Decosmo 1-0-0-2, Knock 0-1-2-1. TOTALS: 15-5-6-39.

WILLIAMS VALLEY

Miller 2-7-8-11, Smeltz 3-0-0-9, Kobularik 3-0-0-7, Kasper 2-0-0-4, Shomper 0-0-0-0, Koppenhauer 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 11-7-8-31.

Marian 7 12 8 12 - 39

Williams Valley 10 9 2 10 - 31

Three-pointers: Marian - Pugh 2, Marek 1, Hannis-Miskar 1; Williams Valley - Smelts 3, Kobularik 1.

Records: Marian (11-9; 8-5); Williams Valley (13-6; 6-6).