TIM WEIGHT/Special to the Sun-Gazette Jersey Shore's Marlee Lehman (11) drives to the basket during a district playoff game against Shamokin on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, at Jersey Shore. Lehman led the team in Wednesday's 43-41 loss to Mifflinburg.

DANVILLE – In early December, just three games into the 2025-26 season, it was Jersey Shore that was rallying back from a deficit to edge out Mifflinburg, winning that contest 42-39 to improve to 2-1. Cut to Wednesday, and the Wildcats would return the favor on the grand stage.

After taking their first lead late in the first quarter, the Bulldogs would hold that lead for 25 of the remaining 26 minutes of Wednesday’s District 4 Class AAAA semifinal matchup. However, cracks steadily started to show, and Mifflinburg would chip away at the gap before breaking through at the perfect time.

Freshman Avery Reibsome scored 17 of her 24 points through the second half, leading an effort that saw the Wildcats whittle Shore’s lead down to four by the fourth and steal it back in the final two minutes. Through the ensuing chaos, Mifflinburg would be the victor once the dust had settled, scraping by the Bulldogs, 43-41, to advance to the district championship.

“We didn’t really relinquish momentum until late in the fourth quarter, but we also didn’t do anything to keep building on the momentum we built in the first half,” said Jersey Shore head coach Mike Schall following the loss. “We had some very different combinations tonight with the way the whistle was blowing, so that was tough, but they never backed down.”

It’s a tough loss for obvious reasons.

Through a season that was perceived as a rebuild one heading into December, Jersey Shore (14-10) ultimately fell one basket short of extending its streak of district final appearances to four. The silver lining is its season isn’t over yet, as it’s set to face Lewisburg in the third-place game for a shot at states.

“It’s an opportunity that the kids have earned to play in another postseason game, a semifinal,” said Schall. “Obviously, they wanted to come out on the right end and have a chance to play for a district title; that’s the goal every season. But they played for each other, did everything that we asked.”

Upon entering the second half trailing 23-15, Mifflinburg immediately got to work narrowing the gap. It was able to hold Shore scoreless for over two minutes to start the third while its offense surpassed its previous quarter total (five points) in the same amount of time, cutting the deficit to two.

For a while, the Bulldogs did a good job staying a step or two ahead. A Marlee Lehman floater finished off a 5-1 run that put them back up by six in style. And when the Wildcats narrowed the gap to two again, four straight foul shots from Lehman and Azelyn Dincher gave them a two-score lead heading into the fourth.

That trend continued through the fourth quarter.

Lehman hit a layup to open the stanza’s scoring, and a 1-for-2 effort from the line from Sadie Schall gave Shore its biggest lead since the early third at 36-29. And though the Bulldogs dominated the glass in the first half, Mifflinburg would respond with back-to-back putback layups to cut it to three less than a minute later.

A scoring drought commenced for the next few minutes. And when scoring resumed, that’s where the Wildcats effectively stole the momentum.

Two free throws from Reibsome made it 36-35, which was immediately followed by a Shore turnover. Off that turnover, Brooke Gessner would pick a good time to score her lone basket on the night, as she converted a layup off the fastbreak to give Mifflinburg its first lead since the 2:37 mark of the first with just over a minute to go.

Through the game’s closing minute, Shore fought tooth-and-nail to keep its chances alive, with Dincher and Avery Depasqua each converting big shots to aid said chances.

But Dincher’s lead-taking deep two was met with a near-immediate three-point play on the other end. And Depasqua’s three to narrow the gap to one was just enough to give the Bulldogs a shot at a full-court heave to win.

“We really didn’t have momentum swing until the end of the fourth quarter and even then, we came back and made a couple of keys plays to give us a chance of coming out on the right side,” said Schall on the fourth. “We just ran out of time and ran out of people. We had a lot of fouls.”

Marlee Lehman finished the night with a full stat sheet, leading Jersey Shore in points (11) and assists (four) while also grabbing seven boards (four offensive) and attaining two steals. Avery Depasqua and Kylie Schall each scored eight points, with Depasqua contributing six rebounds (three offensive).

Off the bench, Gracelyn Frantz continued to prove impactful as the team’s sixth man, grabbing a team-high ten rebounds alongside six first-half points and two second-half steals. And though her minutes were slim, Azelyn Dincher left her mark on multiple occasions, scoring four second-half points in crucial moments.

“She was ready for it, and she has the green light,” said Schall on Dincher’s contributions off the bench. “We’ve been encouraging her more and more in the last two weeks, that she’s going to have a moment, and she did step up. That was a big shot.”

Moving forward, there isn’t much time to wallow in the loss, as the District 4 Class AAAA third-place game sits on the horizon. Date, time and location are still to be determined, but Shore’s opponent – Lewisburg – is affirmed, a team gave the Bulldogs a rough go just two weeks ago.

“We’ve got a fight against an opponent that isn’t a great matchup for us at all,” said Schall, referring to their size and athleticism. “Did decent for the first two quarters, but they gave us the business for the last two. So, we’ve just got to fight for one more game to try to make it stick.”

Mifflinburg 43, Jersey Shore 41

JERSEY SHORE (41)

Azelyn Dincher 1 0-0 2; Avery Depasqua 3 0-0 8; Marlee Lehman 4 3-5 11; Sadie Schall 1 1-2 4; Kylie Schall 2 3-3 8; Gracelyn Frantz 2 2-4 6. Totals 13 11-16 41.

MIFFLINBURG (43)

Brooke Gessner 2 0-4 2; Parice Shuck 1 4-6 6; Lyla Meyer 0 1-2 1; Avery Reibsome 7 9-13 24; Mia Reibsome 4 0-2 8. Totals 14 14-27 43.

Jersey Shore 14 9 10 8 – 41

Mifflinburg 10 5 14 14 – 43

Three-pointers: Jersey Shore 4 (Depasqua 2, S. Schall, K. Schall); Mifflinburg