Schuylkill Haven's Mckenna Runkle and Notre Dame-Green Pond's Emily Lessig jump for the opening tip (Photo by Karlee Feger).

EASTON — Defense wins championships.

Notre Dame-Green Pond proved that true Friday night with a 32-28 victory over Schuylkill Haven in a highly competitive defensive battle in the District 11 Class 3A girls’ basketball championship game at Easton Middle School.

Crusader guard Ava Shonk scored a game-high 12 points, with Emily Lessig adding 10. Kylie Siket led the Hurricanes with 10 points.

Schuylkill Haven got out to a quick start, outscoring Notre Dame-Green Pond 10-4 and applying strong defensive pressure. Siket buried two 3-pointers and seniors Alea Porter and Anna Schaeffer each scored a bucket. Lessig scored all four of the Crusaders’ first-quarter points.

Both teams tallied seven points in the second quarter of play. Mckenna Runkle went 3-for-4 from the foul line for the Hurricanes. Porter scored under the rim and Ava Terefencko had a layup in transition.

Sarah Zambo finished in the paint and Ava Hobbie notched all five of her points in the quarter, putting the Crusaders within two points of the Hurricanes. A late burst kept Schuylkill Haven ahead 17-11 at the half.

“We had to keep our heads in it,” Emily Lessig said. “We just had to keep our composure and apply our defense like we worked on in practice.”

And that’s exactly what the Crusaders did.

The Crusaders (23-5) came out in the third quarter with a new mindset and a new game plan. Notre Dame-Green Pond introduced their press, putting pressure on an offensively successful Hurricane squad.

In the third quarter, the teams combined to shoot 14 free throws, with only six being made. The Hurricanes struggled all night at the foul line, making just 9-of-21.

Schuylkill Haven (22-6) only scored five points in the third quarter, but Siket knocked down a three-pointer at the buzzer, still giving the Hurricanes the slight edge, 22-17.

Shonk getting hot from three ultimately shifted the game in the Crusaders’ favor. Shonk knocked down three three-pointers, giving her Crusaders their first lead since 4-2 in the first quarter. The Crusaders outscored the Hurricanes 15-6 in the final frame, giving them the victory in this hard-fought matchup.

“Just having coach behind me and giving me the reassurance to just step into my shot and shoot with confidence really helped me tonight,” Shonk said after the game.

“Boxing out and getting to the boards was emphasized by coach at halftime as well, so we needed to make that adjustment.”

Added Notre Dame-Green Pond coach Josh Kopp: “We had to get into the mindset that we were playing for a championship.

 “Schuylkill Haven is very aggressive, and it showed tonight. Our girls did a great job adjusting, and our defense is what got us to this win tonight.”

Both teams will continue in the PIAA playoffs next Friday night. Schuylkill Haven will host the fourth-place team from District 12, while Notre Dame-Green Pond will entertain the sixth-place team from District 12.

Game Summary

District 11 Girls’ Basketball

Class 3A Championship

At Easton Middle School

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN (28) — Runkle 0 5-10 5, Siket 3 1-5 10, Hutchinson 0 1-2 1, Schaeffer 3 2-4 8, Porter 1 0-0 2, Terefencko 1 0-0 2, Haag 0 0-0 0, McDonald 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 9-21 28.

NOTRE DAME-GREEN POND (32) — Shonk 4 1-2 12, Hammerstone 0 1-2 1, Zambo 1 1-4 3, A. Hobby 2 0-0 5, Lessig 3 4-8 10, A. Ryan 0 1-2 1, Boyle 0 0-0 0, Schweitzer 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 8-18 32.

SH (22-6)                 10 …. 7 …. 5 …. 6 — 28

NDGP (23-5)           4 …. 7 .… 6 .…15 — 32

3-point FGs: Siket 3, Shonk 3, A. Hobbie