It was a good run, but the Tamaqua Blue Raiders unfortunately witnessed the end of their seven-game winning streak on Tuesday. They fell to Panther Valley 46-41. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Tamaqua came into the match with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 131st, while Panther Valley is ranked 283rd).
Despite the defeat, Tamaqua saw an underclassman step up: Lauren Ligenza dropped a double-double on 14 points and 14 rebounds. Ligenza has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Lorelei Plasha, who dropped a double-double on ten points and ten rebounds.
Tamaqua's loss ended a four-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 10-2. As for Panther Valley, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 9-4 record this season.
Tamaqua will be playing at home against Blue Mountain at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Blue Mountain is looking to tack on another W to their four-game streak on the road. As for Panther Valley, they will square off against Lehighton at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Lehighton's defense has only allowed 28 points per game this season, so Panther Valley's offense will have their work cut out for Panther Valley.
