RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Jersey Shore's Avery Depasqua (10) shoots around Loyalsock's Madison Wertz (34) during a high school girls basketball game at Loyalsock on Monday.

When the light shines through, Jersey Shore preaches soaking it in.

That message starts from a young age and figured to be tested this season with four decorated senior starters graduating. Jersey Shore starts two freshmen as well but the Bulldogs have not run from the light. They want it and doing so has turned a light on what this new-look team can do.

Jersey Shore (13-7) entered Monday’s assembly game at Loyalsock, holding a firm grip on District 4 Class AAAA’s No. 2 seed. Before running into small school juggernaut St. Joseph’s last Thursday, the Bulldogs won five straight games and finished second in the HAC-I.

It says a lot, too, that had Jersey Shore beaten Loyalsock Monday, it would have qualified for a fourth straight Heartland Conference Tournament.

The work continues and big goals remain out there, but Jersey Shore is showing no fear and that provides a strong foundation for a team which will graduate just two players.

“We want to build young athletes to where when the light shines on them they want it. They’re doing better with that,” Jersey Shore coach Mike Schall said following a 51-27 win against Midd-West last Tuesday. “Defensively, we really haven’t struggled with that but offensively at times we had, but now they are confident in their ability to attack and when the light shines on them, they’re ready for it.”

Freshmen Marlee Lehman and Sadie Schall have been the team’s leading scorers, highlighting that. But Jersey Shore has become a well-rounded unit with six players in the rotation all scoring at least eight points in a game last week. Guard Kylie Schall and senior Avery DePasqua have had some big games, while forwards Gracelyn Frantz and Leena Loomis both continued breakout seasons last week.

The best example of Jersey Shore’s progress came 10 days ago when it defeated HAC-I champion Shikellamy, 61-49. The Bulldogs avenged a previous 16-point deficit, nearly doubling their scoring output. Equally impressive, four players scored at least nine points.

“That was one of the best games we played. Everyone scored in high digits,” DePasqua said. “When we all play together as a team, I think we get what we work for.”

“That was a building block game,” Mike Schall said. “We conquered several building blocks before that, but they’ve progressed the entire season in simple ways that we’re asking for them to progress.”

Jersey Shore has done so while tackling a demanding schedule. Five of its seven losses entering the week came against teams which have won 15 or more games. Those challenges helped toughen up the Bulldogs and they have performed well in close games, rallying from fourth quarter deficits to win thrillers against Mifflinburg and Central Mountain, while erasing an early nine-point deficit in an exciting victory at Montoursville.

Like past Jersey Shore teams, this is a squad as tenacious as it is good. The Bulldogs have lost some games, but they have not gone down without fighting. So, instead of taking a step back this season, Jersey Shore has continued surging forward.

Right into the light.

“They know that with our group this year, we have to earn every victory. We have to earn every quarter,” Mike Schall said. “They’ve done a good job building toward that.”

TOURNAMENT TIME

Loyalsock completed the HAC Tournament field with Monday’s win. The Lancers will be the No. 4 seed and play undefeated HAC-II champion Central Columbia Wednesday at Shikellamy. Hughesville is the No. 2 seed and HAC-III champion and will face HAC-I champion Shikellamy in the other semifinal. The championship is Friday.

Central defeated Hughesville and Loyalsock a year ago to capture the title after the Lancers had defeated it for the crown a year earlier. Both semifinals are rematches from earlier encounters with the higher-seeded teams winning both. Central, however, showed last year that regular season games mean nothing now when it avenged defeats against the Spartans and Lancers.

The Mid-Penn championship will be a rematch of last year as Muncy plays Northwest Saturday at St. John Neumann. Again, the script flipped a year ago with Northwest rebounding from an earlier loss against Muncy and taking its second conference championship in three seasons.

Muncy defeated Northwest, 37-25 last month and this will be the third postseason meeting between these rivals in the past two seasons with Muncy defeating the Rangers in the 2025 District 4 Class AA semifinals.

PUTBACKS

Montoursville (7-13) stayed in the playoff hunt, earning victories against St. John Neumann and Williamsport. The Warriors defeated Williamsport for the first time since 2017, winning, 40-30 Saturday. Kayleigh Sheleman had 14 points and five rebounds and Trinity Belle 12 points with six steals. Four players scored in double figures against Neumann … Speaking of the Knights, they also boosted their playoff hopes when they defeated Montgomery, 56-38. Senior Bre Nixon continued a strong second half to the season and scored a career-high 24 points, with Kallee Johnson and Kaydance Meixel combining for 23 … Milton (11-9) clinched a 4A playoff berth with impressive wins against Shamokin and Central Mountain by 34 combined points. Carrie King scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in both games. Hayden Snyder made 10 steals at Central Mountain and scored a career-high 16 points against Shamokin … North Penn-Mansfield senior Kameron Lightner has pulled down 10 or more rebounds in 19 of 20 games this season and has nine more in all 20. She needs seven boards to reach 300 this season and had 33 more in close losses last week against Athens and Wyalusing … South Williamsport sophomore Carly Quimby scored 14 points and Maddie Reidy 11 in a 47-18 win against Montgomery, helping the Mounties pull within a victory of a playoff berth.

Chris Masse may be reached at cmasse@sungazette.com. Follow him on Twitter at @docmasse.

DR. MASSE’S TOP 5 RANKINGS

1. Hughesville (20-2): Hughesville geared up for the HAC Tournament with wins against Mount Carmel, Wyoming Valley West and Elk Lake. The defense continues to excel, holding those three teams to 23.7 points per game. The Spartans reached 20 regular season wins for the second time in three years and take a nine-game winning streak into the HAC semifinals. Maddie Smith produced a double-double (24 points, 10 rebounds) against Elk Lake, grabbing her 500th career rebound as well. Vivian Draper, Anna Easton and Allyssa King all scored at least six points in that game and are part of a group which has gone 67-12 the last three years.

2. Muncy (19-1): Muncy could not have set up its schedule much better as the postseason approaches. Before facing Northwest for the Mid-Penn crown, Muncy hosts Lewisburg and Montoursville Tuesday and Thursday. Games against quality 4A teams should only help the Indians as they try and win a third straight district crown. Lewisburg defeated the Indians last year, but that game helped serve as a springboard and Montoursville is fighting for a playoff berth, so these will be like three playoff games before the actual playoffs start next week. The Indians have won nine straight games and finished a second straight undefeated Mid-Penn regular season with wins against Bucktail and Montgomery. Emma McCormick scored a career-high 16 points in the 50-24 win against Bucktail.

3. Loyalsock (15-6): Loyalsock won four consecutive games entering the Jersey Shore contest and highlighted that stretch with an impressive 68-46 win against District 11 AAAA title contender North Schuylkill. That game showcased how dangerous the Lancers can be as they built a 32-point fourth quarter advantage against the 16-win Spartans. It was more about toughness two days later as Loyalsock fought off a stern challenge from Lewisburg, rallying in the fourth quarter and winning, 37-31. Jaekairah Harden scored a career-high 22 points against North Schuylkill and Maddie Wertz added nine. Madison Perry was key to the comeback at Lewisburg, going for 10 points, five rebounds and four steals.

4. Canton (16-5): Northeast Bradford defeated Canton, 41-32 last Tuesday to secure the NTL-II championship, but the Warriors still earned a spot in the four-team NTL Showcase and will play Division I champion Troy. The Warriors are a victory from matching last year’s 17 wins and this is the best two-year run the program has experienced during the 2000s. Canton rebounded from the NEB game and closed its week with convincing wins against North Penn-Liberty and Sayre. Cailyn Van Noy had 21 points and six rebounds against NPL and Danah Wesneski 12 points with seven steals.

5. Jersey Shore (13-7): Sadie Schall was at the heart of Jersey Shore’s strong early start against Midd-West. She put together an impressive all-around display and had a hand in 16 straight points as Jersey Shore built a 19-point advantage. Schall scored seven points and dealt three assists on 3-pointers during that run. Highlighting the team’s balance, six players scored in that first quarter and four drained 3-pointers.

Players of the Week

Alaina Dadzie, Loyalsock and Haley Litzelman, North Penn-Liberty: Dadzie had hit a bump in the road a few weeks ago, but has come back strong and averaged 22.7 points, 13.3 rebounds and 4.3 steals in three Lancer wins last week. She collected double-doubles in the final two, giving her 14 this season, and went for 15 rebounds and seven steals at Lewisburg. Litzelman earns repeat honors after becoming the program’s all-time points leader. That highlighted a dominant week in which Litzelman averaged 24 points, 16 rebounds and 4.7 steals per game. The senior guard leads the area with 16 double-doubles and totaled 29 points, 16 rebounds, eight assists and five steals in Saturday’s 58-26 win against Cowanesque Valley.

Game of the Week

Bucktail at South Williamsport: We discussed the tournaments earlier, but here’s a big regular season game for both teams. South is fighting for a Class AAA playoff berth and Bucktail for a District 4 Class A first round home playoff game. It was a battle the first time these two played with South rallying in the fourth quarter and winning, 47-40. It’s not a tournament game but it may feel like a playoff encounter.