NORTHAMPTON — Nothing to lose.

That was the message for the Palmerton girls basketball team heading into its District 11 3A championship with heavily-favored No. 1 seed Notre Dame Green Pond.

There weren’t many that expected the Bombers to even be in contention for a district championship this season.

That was especially the case after a mid-season five-game losing streak had Palmerton sitting with a 5-8 record with a bevy of solid competition still remaining on the schedule.

But the Bombers, facing an immense amount of adversity, won five of their next nine, including two huge wins over rival Northern Lehigh to help them qualify for the district playoffs.

“We had some injuries in the beginning of the season where we had key players out and that made it a little tough for us to gel in the first half of the season,” said Palmerton head coach Dan Beck. “Brianna Moore missed some games, Kayla Cincilla missed about 10 games.

“Around our first game with Northern Lehigh, that’s when we were at full strength and it started to come together for us.”

Obviously, Friday night did not end with a Cinderella championship for Palmerton after a 50-28 loss to the Crusaders, but after 22 years the Bombers are headed to the PIAA state tournament.

The key for the 2018-19 Palmerton squad was when they finally were at full strength they continued to get better.

Winning important games to qualify for the postseason, then winning a game over a perennial playoff team in North Schuylkill, and advancing to a district championship are all critical components in establishing a winning culture.

Palmerton has now qualified for the postseason in back-to-back seasons and with four starters returning, including its leading scorers in Moore and Cincilla, the future certainly looks bright for the Bombers.

“The experience these girls are gaining is great for the future of the program and for our only senior, she gets to continue to play with her teammates,” Beck said. “They know what they need to do now in the offseason in order to play at a championship and playoff level, and as coaches we need to do a better job too.

“I told them, ‘This caliber of basketball is different, the speed of the game is different.’ So we’re going to keep working to get better.”

Every playoff team has senior leadership and for the Bombers that role belonged to their only senior Baylee Guedes.

Guedes has earned a reputation of being one of the hardest playing individuals in the Times News area throughout her four-year career. Guedes was exceptional in the post this season, averaging 8.64 points per game and close to double digit rebounds.

The senior did not let her teammates down against the Crusaders, finishing with nine points and nine boards.

Baylee would simply run through a wall for you, she’s a battler,” said Beck. “She always gives 110 percent, she’s a leader for us, and there’s no doubt she’ll be missed.”

Palmerton will now move on to the PIAA 3A state playoffs where they will play the runner-up out of District 4 on Friday at a time and place to be determined.