Has the Tamaqua girls basketball team come of age?

Has it found a way to turn the corner and slip in victories against quality teams in the always tough Schuylkill Girls' Basketball League?Just let Rob Kovac, the highly regarded coach at Jim Thorpe, tell you a few things about the Lady Raiders after Friday's 65-57 Raider victory."They are for real, they are very good, and those freshmen - Emma Kuczynski and Emily Titus - it doesn't matter what grade they're in, they are legitimate players."Although the Raiders couldn't quite put away the Olympians until the final 90 seconds, it was obvious that this team has grown leaps and bounds.Kuczynski turned in another outstanding performance to lead Tamaqua with 32 points."She is so athletic. She can hurt you in so many ways … I am totally impressed with her and that team," said Kovac. "They're no longer freshmen and they're no longer young … they're contenders."Kovac's has an outstanding player of his own in his daughter Kayley Kovac. Kayley drained 36 points and collared a whopping 14 rebounds in trying to do everything possible to keep her team within striking distance."We did everything possible to contain her, from a diamond-and-one to a box-and-one," Tamaqua coach Erika Davis said, "And she still scored all those points. She is so good."Both teams were shaky at the outset as Tamaqua struggled with 10-first quarter turnovers but still managed to hold a 10-9 lead. That's because Thorpe couldn't put it in the ocean, shooting 2-for-10 from the floor in the opening eight minutes."Yeah we struggled shooting, but what it came down to was our lack of defensive intensity," Kovac said. "I mean here we are late in the game still in it and were fouling 90-feet from the basket. We just didn't play smart basketball and that's got to change."Even in the second quarter there was no clear-cut leader as it was deadlocked at 24-24 after 16 minutes. Thorpe grabbed a 31-30 lead thanks to Kayley Kovac's deuce early in the third quarter.But that's when Kirsten Jones, who finished with a career-best with 11 points and 11 rebounds, hit a bucket inside the first of her eight points in the period. That helped to spur her team to a 44-35 lead after three quarters."(Jones) is kind of a quite leader, you don't notice her but when the game is over, she's given us a lot of key baskets and big rebounds," said Davis about her junior forward.Kuczynski pushed the lead to 51-38 with 5:30 to go in the game with a rousing breakaway basket. That wasn't enough to quell the opposition, as Thorpe kept battling and got within 57-51 on another great play from Kayley Kovac with 1:52 to go.But the Raiders sealed the win at the foul line.SWEEP ... Tamaqua also won the opener 42-23. Rebekah Hromyak led the way with 13 points and Mady Coccio added a double-double 12 points and 10 rebounds. Taylor Craigie had 12 points for Jim Thorpe.FAST START ... Titus hit the first two shots for her team at the baseline, but Thorpe quickly adjusted in its 1-3-1 defense. Jamie Zuber connected for nine points all from the foul line.JIM THORPERichards 1-2-4-5, Kovac, P. 1-2-2-5, Ohl 2-0-0-4, Naranjo 0-0-0-0, Kovac, (Kayley) 10-16-18-36, Skrimcovsky 0-0-0-0, Lignore 2-3-4-7, Gabel 0-0-0-0. Totals: 16-23-28-57.TAMAQUAHromyak, R. 0-0-0-0, Hoffman 2-0-0-4, Zuber 0-9-15-9, Jones, (Kirstin) 5-1-3-11, Titus 3-0-2-6, Ceci 0-0-0-0, Frederickson 1-1-1-3, Kuczynski, (Emma) 10-12-19-32. Totals: 21-23-40-65Jim Thorpe 9 15 11 22 - 57Tamaqua 10 14 20 21 - 65Three-pointers: JT - Richards 1, P. Kovac 1. Tamaqua - None.