For a large part of this season, Loyalsock was suffering from its own version of the Super Bowl slump. Neither coaches or players were satisfied with the way they were playing following last year’s state championship.

The Lancers were certainly winning more than they were losing this season, but it’s never been about that for a program that has made the state tournament each of the nine years with Curtis Jacobson at the helm. The malaise reached a low point in a loss to fellow state title contender Hughesville in which the Lancers were held to under 30 points and lost the HAC III title.

But following a virtuoso performance against a high-quality Class AAAA team in North Schuylkill on Thursday, it’s safe to say the dog days are over.

Alaina Dadzie dominated inside with 22 points and 18 rebounds, Jaekairah Harden sliced and diced her way to the hoop in transition for a career-high 22 of her own, and Loyalsock wore down the visiting Spartans en route to a 68-46 win.

“There’s real pressure here, whether we admit it or not. There’s real pressure on them, not really from us, but we started talking midseason about just trying to be the best versions of ourselves every single day, not trying to be the best team in the state every day. And I think that’s helped,” Jacobson said. “Honestly, even two weeks ago there were still some hard feelings with each other, this person mad at that person, that person mad at someone else. So we had a day a week or two ago where we came into the gym and didn’t do much. We let them hang out a little bit, forget about basketball, forget about everything, and just let loose, remember why we’re here, and go back to having fun.”

The Lancers had plenty of fun at home Thursday. Early on, Dadzie and fellow senior forward Maddie Wertz (nine points, all in first half) dominated on the interior. Dadzie, a Division I recruit set to play at Bucknell, played like the player who was the named state Player of the Year last year. Her 22 points and 18 boards marked the third straight huge game for the six-footer after Hughesville held her to just eight points and eight rebounds last Wednesday

“I woke up one day (last week) just wanting to play. I don’t know, it just came,” she said.

Dadzie showed off her athletic prowess that she couples with dominant paint play in a big way to end the first half. She grabbed a rebound under the basket with just six seconds on the clock, realized she had room to go coast-to-coast, and weaved her way through the Spartan defense for a pretty layup just as time expired as Loyalsock ended the first half on a 14-3 run to lead 37-27 at the break.

The first half had been played at a fast pace by both teams, and Jacboson knew that something had to give coming out of halftime.

“I told them at halftime, these last 16 minutes we have to find whatever it is, mindset-wise, where tired is not an option. We didn’t draw anything on the board. I said I’m putting the board away. It’s can we mentally, physically, pride, heart, can we do all those little things to withstand them?,” Johnson said. “Because if we withstand them, I think we can make a run here. But I didn’t know which way it was going to go. Somebody was going to fall down there, just because the pace was too much.”

The Lancers rose to the occasion on the back of Jaekairah Harden. The senior point guard has always had blazing speed, but it may have never been more effective than it was on Thursday. Harden finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals, with the bulk of that production coming in the second half where that pace wore down North Schuylkill and left plenty of daylight for Harden in transition.

“I felt like our team’s defense turned into offense and definitely wore them down, got them out of their groove, and kept them from making their shots. That definitely helped a lot to slow them down,” Harden said. ” Over the past few games, after coming back from my injury, I’ve been gaining a lot of confidence with scoring. So I just try my best and focus on the positive parts of scoring to help my team get points on the board when needed.”

Loyalsock outscored North Schuylkill, 19-7, in the third quarter to lead 56-34, and landed a knockout blow early in the fourth quarter. Behind eight quick points by Harden, they scored the first ten points of the final frame to balloon that lead to 32 before both teams entered reserves into the game.

“I looked to my bench in the first half and said, ‘man, she’s fast’. It just looked a different level of fast (tonight). It’s not going to be perfect, and we told her that. She’s going to miss layups, and yes, that happens, but it’s about living and playing through some of that,” Jacobson said. “I thought at the end of the first quarter, I took her out for the last 30 seconds, she was a little down. I don’t think she was great in the first quarter, or at least she wasn’t rewarded, and I could see it in her body language. She sat at the end of the bench, and I just told her to stick with it and keep going.

“She worked through some of that stuff, and two years ago she wouldn’t have done that. It would have still been in her head. Now she’s working through the struggle and using her energy in the right moments and the right spots, defensively without fouling. She was one step ahead, probably two steps ahead,” Jacobson added. “She’s a leader. I told her the other day in a very difficult one-on-one conversation that, whether she wants to be or not, she’s a leader of the basketball team. And she’s started to buy into that.”

The Lancers have now blown out three playoff-bound teams in a row as it looks to prepare for a potential HAC Tournament berth and another run at a district and state title. There’s work to be done, but this version of Loyalsock may have just turned the corner for good.

“We’ve got to continue to stay focused. It’s easy to say we’re there or peaking, those are cliches, but we need to keep finding ways to get better. It’s really about whether we can continue mentally doing what we’re doing. Physical stuff will take care of itself,” Jacobson said. “You have a bad shooting night, you have a bad shooting night. If the ball doesn’t go your way, it’s okay. It’s about the mental side.If I see them having fun, smiling, and running around, life’s good for me.

Loyalsock 68, North Schuylkill 46

NORTH SCHUYLKILL (46)

Monica Selgrade 2 0-2 4, Mya Corti 3 0-0 6, Gianna Capone 3 0-0 9, Jadelin Shitzer 1 0-0 2, Ella Digris 3 0-0 9, Kyla Rose 1 2-2 4, Kate Urbanowicz Payton Gaurylik 3 0-0 8, Kiera Wengierovich 2 0-4 4. Totals 18 2-4 46.

LOYALSOCK (68)

Madison Perry 2 1-2 5, Molly Boyer 0 0-0, Jillian Kennedy 1 0-0 3, Sophia Smith 0 0-2 0, Julissa Martin 0 0-0 0, Addie Bastian 0 0-0 0, Jaekairah Harden 10 2-4 22, Addie Barowy 2 0-0 5, Alaina Dadzie 11 0-0 22, Maddie Wertz 4 1-2 9, Madalyne McGarr 1 0-0 2, Zaryah Hawkins 0 0-0 0. Totals 31 4-10 68.

North Schuylkil 14 13 7 12 – 46

Loyalsock 20 17 19 12 – 68

3-point goals: North Schuylkill 8 (Gianna Capone 3, Ella Digris 3, Payton Gaurylik 2), Loyalsock 2 (Addie Barowy 1, Jill Kennedy 1)