They’re in!

Two months after many believed their chances of making the Schuylkill League girls’ basketball playoffs this year was improbable, the Marian Fillies proved their doubters wrong and punched their ticket into the six-team tournament, defeating visiting Shenandoah Valley by a score of 48-31 in a match-up played at the John P. “Jack” Malarkey Gymnasium at the winner’s base in Hometown Monday.

That the Fillies finished off their league schedule in triumphant fashion with a better-than-expected 9-5 league mark may have surprised some people around the loop, but not Head Coach Jeff Onushco, hereto known as “The Ressurector” of the program that began in November in difficult times.

“It’s amazing,” Onushco beamed afterward, saying, “No one in the county thought we’d be in the Schuylkill League playoffs, but this is a credit to the girls. They’ve been through a lot, but they worked hard. They listened. They want to win. There was a lot of negative talk about the Marian Fillies, but these girls were determined to prove what people were saying is wrong.”

The architect of the Fillies’ revival, Onushco took over the eight-member squad on Dec. 17, and delivered a 10-6 record with four freshmen, two girls who never played the game and, of course, two returning starters from last year’s 23-5 team, sophomore Addy Marek and junior Deanna Pugh.

As for last night, Onushco deployed a new 1-2-2 full-court press to force 14 Lady Blue Devil turnovers in the first half, then switched to a man-to-man setup in the half-court setting. He said, “Our offense struggled a bit, but our defense pulled us up. We just put it (the new press) in on Sunday, because the last time we pressed them man-to-man, I felt we didn’t get a lot out of it. I thought we needed some traps.”

The end result was never seriously in doubt, as Marek went on to tally a game-high 26 points. At one point in the opening stanza, she scored 11 straight Fillie points, including a pair of threes, as the winners opened up a 16-5 lead.

To their credit, the Lady Devils refused to quit, scoring seven straight points in the final 3:47 of the half to make the intermission tally 18-12.

But Fillies Hailey Minzola, Deanna Pugh and Kate Knock joined Marek in getting into the scoring act in the third stanza, when they opened up a 31-18 advantage that was never threatened and were on their way to a date at Martz Hall.

“Our two best players (Marek and Pugh) played great, but it’s a team; not 1-2 players,” Onushco said. “While you need your great players to step up, they’ve also learned to trust their teammates. I’m thrilled for the girls. Each of them understands you need five players to win.”

Behind Marek, Pugh netted nine points, Minzola seven, and Knock six. Shenandoah was paced by Aubrey Monaghan, who tallied 10 points.

TO FACE SPARTANS ... The Fillies will meet Division 1 runnerup North Schuylkill at 2 p.m. Saturday at Martz Hall.

YOUNG TEAMS ... Both Marian and Shenandoah started three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior.

STARTER SITS OUT ... Fillie Brooke Hannis-Miskar sat out with an ankle injury.

PSU CAGERS LEND SUPPORT ... Onushco doubles as head coach of the women Nittany Lions team at the Penn State Hazleton Campus, whose team members attended last night’s game, sitting behind the Fillie bench to support their coach and his scholastic team.

MARIAN

Pugh 4-0-0-9, Minzola 3 0-0-7, Knock 2-1-2-6, Decosmo 0-0-0-0, Marek 7-10-13-26, Kwon 0-0-0-0, Bushati 0-0-0 0. TOTALS: 16-11-15-48.

SHENANDOAH VALLEY

Troutman 1-2-2-4, Donovan 1-3-6-6, J. Chagolla 2-0-2-5, Monaghan 4-1-2-10, Li. Salguero 2-2-2-6, La. Salguero 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 10-8-14-31.

Marian 8 10 15 15 - 48

Shenandoah Vy. 3 9 12 7 - 31

Three-pointers: Marian - Knock, Marek 2, Pugh, Minzola; Shenandoah Valley - Donovan, J. Chagolla, Monaghan.

Records: Marian (12-9, 9-5); Shenandoah Valley (11-11, 7-7).