Penn Cambria coach Josh Himmer talks with his players during a timeout. Photo for the Mirror by Matt Michelone

LORETTO — If there’s one thing that challenging times have taught the Penn Cambria girls basketball team this season to build on, it’s been one very important characteristic.

“What allows us to be successful is just toughness,” Penn Cambria coach Josh Himmer said. “A lot of things didn’t go our way (Saturday afternoon). They broke our press at times. We didn’t shoot the basketball very well today at all. In a couple of our losses this year, that’s exactly what happened to us. My staff and I constantly preach to them just to be tough. Be mentally and physically tough, and that’s what made us win today, our toughness.”

During their PIAA Class 4A first-round matchup at Saint Francis University’s DeGol Arena with Lewisburg, the Lady Panthers once again found themselves in another back-and-forth start.

That was until Rachel Fisher scored off a turnover and Avery LeMaster added a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the third quarter as the Panthers pulled away for a 51-40 victory triumph over the Green Dragons.

The win earned them a date with Delone Catholic at 5 p.m. Wednesday night in the second round at Chambersburg. Delone defeated Lansdale Catholic in their own opening-round matchup, 36-35.

“I think we feed off ourselves as teammates,” Fisher said. “We have a really good support system with the crowd coming out. It’s such a good atmosphere we have, especially playing at home, that helps a lot, and mental toughness that’s another big part of it.”

The Dragons started strong as Ava Motto took a feed from Lauren Schwartz to build an early 4-0 lead.

Penn Cambria cashed in on turnovers, including on a fast break where Fisher got the bucket to give the Lady Panthers their first lead of the game as they were ahead 15-9 after the first. Fisher finished leading all scorers with 23 points, including going 9-for-10 at the free-throw line.

Lewisburg responded in the second as Teagan Osunde — who scored a team-high 12 points — put away a floater. Kennedy North later scored off a turnover to trim the deficit to 23-18 Penn Cambria.

Fisher responded with a bonus free-throw opportunity to put the Lady Panthers ahead 26-20 at the break.

“We were definitely putting pressure on them,” Fisher said. “Our goal was to put pressure on them, make them dribble and trap them as much as we could, and get ball pressure. It definitely worked on some of the points I had.”

“They’re a pretty deep team; they’re super aggressive,” Lewisburg coach Brent Sample said. “They all get after it; they all hustle. We knew what we were getting into. It’s really hard to mimic that kind of pressure. Our jayvee girls did a really good job (of mimicking it). They forced us into too many turnovers, and foul trouble was the difference in the game.”

Penn Cambria extended its lead to eight as Sophia Beard put away a layup to put the Panthers up 32-24, but the Lady Dragons didn’t go away quietly.

India Walker drew an and-1 while Osunde put away a couple of putbacks, which helped Lewisburg cut the deficit down to two at 34-32 before Penn Cambria scored the last seven points of the quarter.

“The first half, (Fisher) took great shots, but she didn’t make a lot of wide open shots,” Himmer said. “I talked to her about, ‘I just need you to be the athlete, just be an athlete, just be yourself. Quit worrying about missed shots, quit worrying about me yelling at you. Just go out and be you.’ In the second half, I think she really did that.”

Fisher added a layup with under a minute to play to put the icing on the cake.

“We just have so much love for each other as a team,” Fisher said. “We work so well together, we know where we are on the court, and I think that plays a huge role (in our success).”

Himmer has also taken past experiences — including from his time as an assistant in the boys program — to help Penn Cambria reach the next level.

“I said to the girls winning isn’t easy, and you never win the same way, especially in the state playoffs,” Himmer said. “This is only my second time in the state playoffs (as head coach). I’ve watched a bunch of them, I’ve been around it. I’ve seen a lot of local state runs. I was on (Penn Cambria coach Jim) Scoot Ronan’s staff on the boys side and we made some deep runs. We were able to adapt to the game, took what came to us and used toughness to win.”

LEWISBURG (40): Walker 2 1-5 5, Motto 2 2-2 6, Osunde 5 2-4 12, Schwartz 2 1-2 5, Shedleski 3 1-2 8, McNamara 0 0-0 0, North 1 2-4 4. Totals — 15 9-19 40.

PENN CAMBRIA (51): Ronan 0 2-2 2, McCoy 2 1-2 7, Fisher 7 9-10 23, Ava. LeMaster 1 1-2 3, Beard 4 0-0 8, Andersen 1 0-1 2, Ave. LeMaster 2 0-0 5, Rabatin 0 1-2 1, Rickens 0 0-0 0, Davison 0 0-0 0, Stipanovich 0 0-0 0. Totals — 17 14-19 51.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Lewisburg 9 11 12 8 – 40

Penn Cambria 14 12 15 10 – 51

3-point goals: Lewisburg 1 (Shedleski), Penn Cambria 3 (McCoy 2, LeMaster)

Records: Lewisburg (13-13), Penn Cambria (20-5).

Officials: Anthony Hutzell, George Figura, Vicki Markiweicz