3 players to watch

Searfoss closed out her freshman season by being named third-team allstate by the state’s girls’ basketball sportswriters. She scored a career-high 39 points in a Schuylkill League semifinal game after scoring 31 in the Olympians final regular season contest.

Searfoss is more of a deadly slasher to the basket than outside shooter and provides a lot of her offense through her tenacious defense and quick hands. She also gets to the foul line a lot while driving hard to the basket.

“Her court awareness, she has an exceptionally high basketball IQ, is a phenomenal,”” coach Rob Kovac said. “She’s a real student of the game. And she’s improving her range on her jumper.”

Kuzcynski (21.0 ppg.), a 5-7 senior guard, is moving up the all-time Tamaqua girls career scoring list and sits at No. 4 behind her coach and 2007 grad Erika (Barron) Davis (2,317), 1980 grad Cindy Miller (2,155) and 2011 grad Amy Zuhner (1,908),

Kuczynski, on pace for a 2,000-point scoring career, averaged 18.2 and 18.5 ppg. her first two seasons to help the Blue Raiders recover from a rare down period for the program. She scored 32 points, two off her career-high, when Tamaqua beat Northwestern Lehigh to clinch a PIAA berth.

Kuczynski, who was named second team all-state in Class 4A last season, led Tamaqua in points scored, rebounds, assists and steals last season.

Leila Hurley is a perfect compliment to Skyler Searfoss and Olivia Smelas, who does most of her offensive damage underneath. Hurley led Jim Thorpe with 50 3-point field goals last season while shooting almost 40% from behind the line.

“Leila is the most improved player on the team so far this season,” Kovac said. “She was mainly a shooter and a pretty good one but she’s driving more now so teams will have to be wary of that. She brings a whole new dimension of offense.”

Hurley scored a career-high 28 points in a pair of games last season and in one set a school record with eight 3-pointers.