Get ready for another round of basketball playoffs. The Lady Trojans reached the semifinals of the East Penn Conference playoffs last week before falling to Northampton in a game played at the PPL Center.

After a nine-day layoff, Parkland (15-8) heads back into playoff mode for the District 11 tournament and will start play Friday night in the quarterfinals. For the Trojans, districts get underway just like their play in the EPC playoffs did with a quarterfinal game against Pocono Mountain West (17-5). Instead of a long trip to Pocono Summit though, this time the teams meet at a neutral site, playing at Northampton High School.

In the playoff game between the Trojans and Panthers, Parkland relied on the hot hands of Talia Zurinskas (20 points) and Madie Siggins (17) and returned home with a 42-39 win. Pocono Mountain was led by Vitaijah Davis, who scored 17 in the game. During the regular season, it was the Lady Panthers who came out on top with a 53-36 win over Parkland. In that game, it was also Siggins (13) and Zurinskas (11) who led Parkland in scoring.

The first meeting between the two teams came back on January 8 and left Parkland with a 4-4 record on the season. As Trojan head coach Ed Ohlson had predicted going into the season, his team started slowly but regrouped as young players gained varsity experience and the players started to become more comfortable with each other.

In late January Parkland started to play more consistent basketball, going from an 8-7 mark to winning its final six regular season games and knocking off teams like Central Catholic and Northampton late in the season.

During the regular season, the win over Parkland was the only win that Pocono Mountain West picked up against a team that qualified for the league playoffs. The Panthers finished the season 5-4 against teams from District 11 that qualified for district playoffs.

While Zurinskas and Siggins – both sophomores – held the top two spots on the team in scoring this season with 13.9 and 12.4 points per game, respectively, several other players have contributed to Parkland’s success. Senior Zoe Wilkinson averaged just under eight points per game and gave the Trojans a strong post player who was able to generate rebounds on both the offensive and defensive sides. The team also received an emotional boost with the return of senior Mo Olenwine, who missed most of the season with an injury and returned late in the year on limited duty to help the team. A strong bench allowed Ohlson to give a breather to players and keep his starters fresher through games.

Parkland last won a district championship in 2014 and PM West is in search of its first district title. The top four teams in districts will earn a spot in the PIAA tournament which begins next month.