POTTSVILLE — It was intense. It was a battle. It’s the Schuylkill League playoffs.

Tamaqua and Mahanoy Area traded the lead back and forth numerous times on Saturday afternoon at Martz Hall in the Schuylkill League quarterfinals, but it was the Bears that were able to make a few more critical plays down the stretch to defeat the Raiders, 44-40.

The two teams being knotted on the scoreboard was a regular occurrence. The Raiders and Bears were tied at 10-10 after one, and 22-22 at the half.

After a slow start to the first on the offensive end, business really picked up in the second quarter. Mahanoy jumped out to a 20-12 lead at the 4:11 mark after a 10-2 run to start the frame. Back-to-back three-pointers from Felicia Bro and Lilly Carl sparked the surge.

It didn’t take long for Tamaqua to answer, however, with the Raiders going on a 10-2 run of their own. Back-to-back hits from beyond the arc from Tamaqua also fueled its run, with Kendle Miller and Lauren Ligenza both hitting big triples to help close the gap. A left-handed finish by Miller with one second left in the second evened up the score going into the break.

Ligenza had a big first half for the Raiders to keep them in contention, scoring 11 points. Ella Connolly led the Bears with 10, and Bro scored nine for the Bears.

“Credit to them. They hit some three-point shots that we didn’t expect them to make at times in the game. We even packed it in to make them have to make those, and they hit some big shots,” said Mahanoy coach Tom Scheeler. “We got it to an eight-point lead there in the second quarter and they battled back to tie, and we talked to the girls about that at the half.

“We knew this was going to be a tough game, and that’s what it was, and we said that we were going to have to make some plays in the second half.”

The third quarter was much of the same between the two teams, who traded the lead back and forth multiple times. Tamaqua built some momentum, taking a 30-26 advantage with 4:07 remaining in the third after a three from Miller and a deuce from Ligenza.

But Mahanoy finished the quarter strong with makes from both Connolly and Bro to tie the contest, and then four more points from Bro — two free throws and another two-point bucket — to end the third to give the Bears a 34-30 lead going into the fourth.

“Credit to Mahanoy. They were the better team today. It just seems like any time we got momentum by generating a turnover or getting a stop, we couldn’t take advantage of it on the offensive end. We would turn it over or we wouldn’t convert. We needed to do a better job of that,” said Tamaqua coach Erika Davis.

“They were able to just make a few more plays than us in that fourth quarter. I thought we didn’t move well defensively at times. We didn’t move well in our zone, so we switched to man and our help side had some breakdowns, especially when we got screened. And they beat us on the boards, too, and we’ve been a pretty good rebounding team. So, all of those things made a difference.”

Mahanoy got a huge three from Lilly Carl early in the fourth around the six-minute mark to make it a 37-30 game. But as it did throughout the game, Tamaqua kept battling.

Another clutch three from Miller, her third of the day, cut the deficit to four and a bucket from Millie Black got the Raiders within two.

Tamaqua stayed within a bucket for the majority of the fourth.

A timely triple from Naomi Kowalick at the two-minute mark gave the Bears a little breathing room, extending their lead to 42-37, but a Ligenza splash from deep made it a two-point game yet again with 26.6 seconds left.

Bro got fouled and went to the charity stripe — draining both — to make it a 44-40 Bears advantage with 19.6 remaining. Tamaqua never was able to get a shot off on its ensuing possession.

“We made some great plays down the stretch. It was a great basketball game. Both teams played tough, and we were able to make a few more tough ones down the stretch,” said Scheeler. “Carl and Kowalick both hit some big shots, and Bro’s free throws at the end were huge to give us that four-point lead.

“Kowalick also took a huge charge that created momentum for us, too. I’m just really proud of our girls. One of my worries coming here was that it was this group’s first time playing at Martz Hall. So I didn’t know how they would react playing at this place. I was nervous about it, but the girls didn’t play nervous at all and they played tough.”

BOX SCORE ... Ligenza scored a game-high 18 points for the Raiders and Miller added 11. Bro and Connolly both had big days for Mahanoy, scoring 17 and 14, respectively.

REBOUND HOUNDS ... Mahanoy won the battle on the boards over a good Tamaqua rebounding squad. Bro tallied eight boards, and Connolly added seven.

NEXT UP ... Mahanoy advances to the Schuylkill League semis where it will face off with Division 1 champion Schuylkill Haven at 7:30 p.m. at Martz Hall on Tuesday.

TAMAQUA

Osenbach 0-0-0-0, M. Black 2-1-2-5, Ellington 1-0-0-2, Ligenza 8-0-4-18, Miller 4-0-0-11, L. Black L. 1-2-5-4, Gormley 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 16-3-11-40

MAHANOY AREA

Haughney 0-0-0-0, Manley 0-0-0-0, Wonsock 1-0-0-2, Christian 0-0-0-0, Bro, 6-4-4-17, Carl 2-0-0-6, Kowalick 2-0-0-5, Connolly 7-0-0-14. TOTALS: 18-4-4-44

Tamaqua 10 12 8 10 - 40

Mahanoy Area 10 12 12 10 - 44

Three-pointers: Tamaqua - Miller 3, Ligenza 2; Mahanoy Area - Carl 2, Bro 1, Kowalick 1.

Records: Tamaqua (16-7); Mahanoy Area (18-5).