COAL TOWNSHIP - The flip of the calendar seemed to do wonders for Shamokin's girls' basketball team.
The Indians, last seen losing to Lourdes 46-25 on Dec. 30, came out Saturday and did no wrong in a 57-36 win over Mifflinburg.
Shamokin had four of five starters score in double digits, used crisp passes to dissect the Wildcats' defense and rebounded like girls possessed.
"We did a nice job," Shamokin head coach Bill Callahan said. "They came to play. We've been working and I'm glad it showed."
While the Indians have struggled outside of the Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference at times this season, Division I of the conference has been a welcome sight for Shamokin.
The Indians have lost just one game in conference play in the last two seasons, and with Saturday's win have jumped out to a 3-0 conference record this year.
And with ease, Shamokin jumped out to a big lead against Mifflinburg.
Kelsey Forbes started the Indians' charge with six points in the first quarter and led Shamokin with 13 for the game, a career high for her.
Forbes, who missed two games with an injury, also pulled down five rebounds and gave the Indians better offensive flow than they'd had in the loss to Lourdes.
"For her first game back, Kelsey played very well," Callahan said. "She was out with some injuries, but she did a nice job today."
Also in double figures for the Indians were Olivia Bonshock (12 points, 11 rebounds), Shaylee Pesarchick (11 points) and Kelsey Yacko (10 points, nine rebounds).
The Indians also forced 22 turnovers and led by 32 points at one point in the third quarter.
"You have to give the girls credit," Callahan said. "We really worked on some things, and maybe it was our tough non-league schedule in December that means we're playing better than we think we are. We're 5-4, but I think we'll be just fine."
Teams need 11 wins to qualify for the District 4 playoffs, and Shamokin has made the playoffs in each of the last seven seasons.
Game Summary
MIFFLINBURG (36) - Stauffer 7 -2 14, Alexander 3 0-0 7, Beck 0 0-0 0, Weeder 0 0-0 0, Walter 0 2-2 2, Crossland 0 0-0 0, Hess 0 1-2 1, Kline 2 1-2 5, Johnson 1 0-0 2, Koons 0 0-0 0, McCardle-Coe 2 1-2 5. Totals 15 5-10 36.
SHAMOKIN (57) - Schiccatano 2 2-2 7, Pancher 1 2-2 4, Bonshock 6 0-0 12, Yacko 4 2-2 10, Pesarchick 5 0-0 11, Forbes 6 1-2 13, Zimmerman 0 0-0 0, Breslin 0 0-0 0, Tobias 0 0-0 0, B. Pope 0 0-0 0, C. Pope 0 0-0 0, Wargo 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 7-8 57.
3-point FGs: Alexander, Schiccatano, Pesarchick.