HOMETOWN - If you were a spectator in the Marian High School gym Thursday evening, you knew something had to give.

With two undefeated girls teams and one of them ranked as high as No. 4 in the Class AA state polls, the anticipation was high.But Minersville turned the showdown into a blowout.The Miners' daunting defense provided an exclamation point to the victory and also left a question mark: If the Battlin' Miners are fourth in the polls, who the heck are the three teams ranked in front of them?All Minersville did was undress a very good Marian team, 53-19, to leave no doubt to who is the team to beat in the Schuylkill Girls Basketball League.Buzzing like bumble bees from start to finish, Minersville (10-0) rallied around the superb play of sensational junior guard Abby Schoffstall, and trio of inside players to dominate this game from start to finish."They're quick, their very good, and they play defense as well as any team that we're going to see all season long," said an admiring Marian coach Paul Brutto.Surely that statement is right on point. Minersville forced Marian into 26 turnovers and had a huge 41-25 advantage on the glass."We try and set the tempo with our defense," explained Minersville coach Jared Homa. "We have a ton of respect for Marian. They came in here allowing teams only 23 points per game, so you have to look at that and understand just how good they play defense."Minersville's outside attack never swayed or wavered. They gushed out to an 18-3 first quarter lead, fueled by seven points from Schoffstall, four from 6-1 center Emily Mealey, also a junior, and a defense that forced Marian into a 0-for-7 shooting from the floor to start the game."Our goal was to get ahead early and dominate with our defense," said Homa. "I thought we did a great job of not allowing them a field goal at the start, and we really had to contain number 25 (Savanna Krusinsky). Our two inside players, Adrienne Kroznuskie and Maggie Wigoda did a great job switching up on her all night."Indeed that was very evident as Krusinsky managed a season low of four points, all from the foul line."You can see we were frustrated early in the game," said Brutto. "We made our share of mistakes and that caught up with us."After Minersville shot out to an 11-2 lead, then posted the final seven points of the period for a 15-point cushion, Marian lost its strut. The Fillies (11-1) trailed 29-11 at the break, and failed to hit a field goal from the 1:11 mark of the second quarter to the 3:35 mark of the fourth period when Brianna Raabe scored from the paint.Kroznuskie led Minersville with 15 points. Schoffstall and Wigoda had 13 points apiece."We have to pick up the pieces in a hurry," said Brutto. "We play Holy Redeemer, the No. 5 ranked team in the state, on Saturday.OH THOSE GLASS CLEANERS … Mealey and Wigoda shared team-high rebounding with 11 apiece. Krusinsky picked off 10 rebounds to lead the Fillies.SHOOTING WOES … It was a tough night from the floor for Fillies going 4-for-37.MINERSVILLEKroznuskie 6-2-4-15, Schoffstall 6-0-2-13, Wigoda 4-5-7-13, Mealey 2-0-0-4, Nawrocki 1-0-0-3, Bentz 1-0-0-3, Kriston 1-0-0-2, Graeff 0-0-0-0, Tellez 0-0-0-0, Garrity 0-0-0-0, Lowe 0-0-0-0. Totals 21-7-13-53.MARIANWhitecavage 1-5-7-7, Krusinsky 0-4-6-4, Stoyer 1-1-2-3, Raabe 10-0-2, Karnish 1-0-0-2, Agosti 0-1-2-1, Joseph 0-0-0-0, Erbe 0-0-0-0, Correale 0-0-0-0. Schwabe 0-0-0-0. Totals 4-11-17-19.Minersville 18 11 11 13 - 53Marian 3 8 4 4 - 19Three-point field goals: Minersville: Nawrocki, Schoffstall, Bentz, Kroznuskie. Marian: None.