WILLIAMSPORT - Shamokin Area won't defend the District 4 Class AAA championship it won last year.
Top-seeded Athens took care of that Wednesday night when a big second half pushed the Wildcats to a 45-23 semifinal victory at Williamsport's Magic Dome.
What's lost if you just look at that final score is that, at the half, with a 17-17 deadlock after a strong second quarter, the Indians were in the driver's seat.
Early on, Athens threatened to make the game a blowout, leading 11-3 after a strong opening eight minutes. But the Indians, with five different players scoring and a much more solid defensive quarter, brought it back to even by the half.
"At the half, we had all the momentum in the world," Shamokin coach Bill Callahan said. "Our game plan in the second half was to attack offensively.
"For whatever reason, we just completely stopped. We wouldn't attack. We wouldn't shoot."
And Athens cranked up the defense.
Shamokin's first five offensive possessions of the third quarter ended in turnovers. Two minutes in, the Wildcats were up five - 23-17 - and they never looked back.
The Indians' four points in the third quarter came via a 4-for-8 performance at the foul line. Their only two points in the final quarter came on a Catelin Pancher layup.
That was it.
By the end of the third quarter, Athens was up 34-21
And it only got worse.
Sixteen of Shamokin's 26 turnovers came during the disastrous second half.
Athens guard Monica Dougherty was the only player on either team in double figures, finishing with 15 points. The Wildcats, however, got nine apiece from three others - Danielle Hopper, Christin Dunkling and Mackenzie Hafer.
Kelsey Yacko's seven points topped the scoring list for Shamokin.
Yacko and Sami Scicchitano are the only seniors the Indians lose from this squad, a team that won 13 games and contended for league and district honors.
"Our girls are young, and they played a lot of games this year," Callahan said. "The future is bright."
Game Summary
SHAMOKIN (23) - Pancher 2 1-2 5, Bonshock 0 2-4 2, Yacko 2 3-4 7, Pesarchick 1 1-3 4, Forbes 0 1-2 1, Scicchitano 1 1-2 4, Koons 0 0-0 0, Erb 0 0-0 0, Zimmerman 0 0-0 0. Totals 6 9-17 23.
ATHENS (45) - Donnelly 0 0-0 0, Hopper 3 3-4 9, M. Dougherty 6 2-2 15, D. Dougherty 1 0-0 3, C. Dunkling 3 3-6 9, Warner 0 0-0 0, Westbrook 0 0-0 0, Priester 0 0-0 0, Hafer 4 0-0 9, Riban 0 0-0 0, J. Dunkling 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 8-12 45.
3-point FGs: Pesarchick, Scicchitano, M. Dougherty, D. Dougherty, Hafer.