Against the odds, Harden caught up, jumped over the baseline. In one motion, she whipped a perfect pass to Addi Baroway who converted a second quarter layup. If there is a play which best symbolizes who Harden is and what she brings Loyalsock, this was it.

And Harden made plays all night Tuesday at C.I’.’s court as Loyalsock opened its season in impressive fashion. The junior point guard made a run at a quadruple-double, scoring 11 points, making eight steals, grabbing seven rebounds and dealing seven assists as the Lancers defeated Central Mountain, 58-32.

“The biggest thing I try to control is how hard I play,” Harden said. “That and how I can help my teammates throughout the game.”

Loyalsock never has to worry about Harden playing hard. She is a constant hustler who made a big impact off the bench last season, helping Loyalsock reach the 3A Final 4 for the first time in her debut season there. Five strong seniors graduated, but Harden provides a nice building block and unloaded her tool box against a quality Central Mountain team which could make noise this season.

Madison Perry (0) of Loyalsock dives to get a loose ball as Camdyn Weaver (20) of Central Mountain reaches for the ball in Loyalsock. Loyalsock won the game 58-30. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

No doubt, this was a well-rounded effort. Alaina Dadzie did Dadzie things, scoring a game-high 24 points, grabbing seven rebounds, making seven steals and blocking five shots. Lacey Kriebel produced 15 points with five steals and Julie Ellis dealt five assists.

Dadzie and Kriebel, however, are returning all-staters and Ellis a three-year starter. Most knew about them. Thus, entering the season, Harden may have been Loyalsock’s best kept secret.

Now that secret is out.

“She is a special kid who I don’t think understands she’s a special kid and we’re happy to continue to work with her and develop,” Loyalsock coach Curtis Jacobson said. “She goes hard in practice, too, and she loves the game of basketball, so we have to keep pushing her.”

Harden pushes herself hard. In fact, she is her toughest critic, often thinking about the one play and/or shot she didn’t make instead of all the ones she did make. But never being satisfied is a great quality to have. Smart, driven and well-rounded, Harden provides Loyalsock another versatile weapon and she set the tone against Central Mountain.

Jaekairah Harden (22) of Loyalsock steals the ball from Lena Walker (24) of Central Mountain in Loyalsock. Loyalsock won the game 58-30. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

The Lancers missed their first nine shots Tuesday and Central Mountain led 4-0 early. Harden, though, started changing the game’s complexion with tremendous defense, helping Loyalsock take a 16-10 lead entering the second. In that quarter, Harden had a hand in nine straight points and Loyalsock started to take control, building a 35-14 lead late in the half.

It was not just Harden playing good defense either. It was how she did it. The tenacious defender used her feet, did not reach and repeatedly caused havoc, playing a monster role in Central Mountain turning the ball over 34 times.

“That’s what I try to do. I try and help my team get going,” Harden said. “When they get going I just try and help them keep going.”

Harden was true to her word, relentlessly competing every moment she was on the court. She is the kind of player who can impact a game in a big way whether scoring much or not and that was evident Tuesday. She had six points late in the third quarter and still was one of biggest difference-makers on the court.

Harden’s final steal brought along the mercy rule with 5 minutes, 20 seconds remaining. It was just one game, but Harden offered a glimpse at how dangerous she could be this season as she continues settling into her new role.

Jaekairah Harden (22) of Loyalsock steals the ball from Lena Walker of Central Mountain in Loyalsock. Loyalsock won the game 58-30. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

“It’s honestly not a shock to us. We saw the development last year. She put in a lot of time in the offseason, and she’s just a determined kid,” Jacobson said. “She’s someone who always thinks of the next play as the most important. There’s a growth process this team is going to go through and she’s certainly a key component of that growth. She’s of the players who probably has us ahead of where we thought we might be right now because her growth has been so fast.

“There’s a long way to go for her and the team, but for her to play that way, we expect that every night and so does she.”

Central Mountain expects to do good things as well this season and showed why it could enjoy a strong season. The Wildcats return four starters who averaged at least six points per game last year and did some nice things against Loyalsock.

This was not really about Central Mountain playing bad, but a perennial district title contender playing well. Still, the Wildcats never backed down, never gave in and kept battling until the final second ticked away, laying a nice foundation moving forward.

“We played hard. We didn’t play well but I credit Loyalsock for a lot of that,” Central Mountain coach Scott Baker said. “They created a lot of turnovers. I don’t think we handled the ball well, as well as we need to, but again I credit a lot of that to them because they’re so long and so aggressive.”

Jaekairah Harden (22) of Loyalsock scores against Central Mountain in Loyalsock. Loyalsock won the game 58-30. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

Sophomore Camdyn Weaver helped Central Mountain start the game strong and scored eight points, while making five steals and pulling down seven rebounds. Lena Walker scored seven points and Taylor Doyle produced six points with four steals and two blocks. Macy Plowman added five rebounds and Ava Doyle six points.

The Wildcats feature several scoring options and their early-season schedule could be a blessing moving forward. After playing Loyalsock Tuesday, Central Mountain faces defending District 4 Class AAA champion Hughesville Friday. That’s two games against teams with seven combined starters from groups which won 51 games a year ago. Iron sharpens iron and whatever the results are early this season, Central Mountain is pushing itself hard.

“The way I approach it with the girls is that this is great. If you think about it, there are a lot of teams across the country who purposely schedule that way,” Baker said. “They want to go out and play the best teams. You go out and play the best teams early on and that kind of shows you where you’re at. It’s good for us.”

Dadzie has been good for Loyalsock since Day 1 as a freshman and picked up where she left off a season ago. The junior forward added three assists to her impressive stat line and also took her game outside, hitting a 3-pointer and foul-line jumper. Kriebel pulled down six rebounds and Ellis generated four of her five assists during a game-changing second quarter.

They and Harden are the lone contributors back from last year, but the reserves did well in extended minutes. All the Lancers moved the ball well and Loyalsock produced 17 assists on 23 field goals. It’s a marathon, not a sprint but the Lancers certainly ran the first leg of this stretch quite well.

Jaekairah Harden (22) of Loyalsock pushes the ball up the court against Central Mountain in Loyalsock. Loyalsock won the game 58-30. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

“It’s not going to be perfect and we weren’t perfect,” Jacobson said. “We talked about laying the foundation for the season and I thought we did a pretty good job laying a foundation to build off of.”

Loyalsock 58, Central Mountain 32

CENTRAL MOUNTAIN (32)

Taylor Doyle 1 3-4 6, Lena Walker 2 2-4 7, Ava Doyle 2 2-4 6, Camdyn Weaver 2 4-5 8, Macy Plowman 1 0-0 2, Elise McKean 1 0-0 2, Jayce Tripp 0 1-2 1. Totals 9 12-19 32.

LOYALSOCK (58)

Alaina Dadzie 10 3-3 24, Lacey Kriebel 6 2-3 15, Julie Ellis 1 0-0 2, Jaekairah Harden 4 2-6 11, Jillian Kennedy 0 0-0 0, Maddie Wertz 0 0-0 0, Madison Perry 1 0-0 3, Hazel Zajack 0 0-0 0, Iyana Sewell 0 0-0 0, Addi Barowy 1 1-2 3, Addie Bastian 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 8-15 58.

Central Mountain 10 9 8 5–32

Loyalsock 16 19 16 7–58

3-point goals: Central Mountain 2 (T. Doyle, Walker); Loyalsock 4 (Dadzie, Kriebel, Harden, Perry).

Records:Loyalsock (1-0), Central Mountain (0-1).

Jaekairah Harden (22) of Loyalsock reaches over Taylor Doyle (25) of Central Mountain in Loyalsock. Loyalsock won the game 58-30. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

Jillian Kennedy of Loyalsock puts up a shot under pressure from Taylor Doyle of Central Mountain in Loyalsock. Loyalsock won the game 58-30. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

Jaekairah Harden of Loyalsock and Taylor Doyle of Central Mountain in Loyalsock. Loyalsock won the game 58-30. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

Alaina Dadzie of Loyalsock scores 2 of her 24 points against Central Mountain in Loyalsock. Loyalsock won the game 58-30. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

Alaina Dadzie of Loyalsock blocks the shot by Camdyn Weaver of Central Mountain in Loyalsock. Loyalsock won the game 58-30. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

Alaina Dadzie of Loyalsock strips the ball from Macy Plowman of Central Mountain in Loyalsock. Loyalsock won the game 58-30. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express

Alaina Dadzie of Loyalsock celebrates scoring early in the game against Central Mountain in Loyalsock. Loyalsock won the game 58-30. DAVE KENNEDY/For The Express