Mar 18, 2025
MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsock’s Jaekairah Harden (22) and Dunmores Amanda Dempsey (10) fight for a lose ball in the fourth quarter during last week’s PIAA Class AAA state quarterfinal contest at Martz Hall in Pottsville.
Jaekairah Harden intensely competed and never backed down while pursuing victory. And that was just when playing against her father or older brother Jamaire.
Father, brother, teammate or opponent, there is no turning Harden off. Her competitive spirt runs deep.
Trial by fire against family members has helped Harden fan the defensive flames at Loyalsock. The junior point guard has made her mark all season while starting for the first time and played one of her best games last Friday, helping Loyalsock defeat Dunmore, 60-36, in the Class AAA state quarterfinals.
Just as important as scoring 10 points and grabbing eight rebounds, Harden contained dynamic Scranton-bound point guard Jaekairah Harden as Loyalsock (28-2) earned a spot in its second straight Final 4. There, the Lancers will play Imhotep Friday night.
“Working out with my dad who is guarding me helped me get better,” Harden said. “I really learned a lot from my brother, too. He’s really good.”
So is Harden.
Her stats are good but they reveal so little when analyzing Harden’s true impact. Stats do not measure the ferocity she brings to defense, the fearlessness with which she plays, nor the way she makes her teammates better.
Like Jamaire who plays football at Lehigh, Harden has a strong mind and a heart which always beats strong.
“She’s a player that I don’t think people understand the value that she has on both ends,” Loyalsock coach Curtis Jacobson said. “She’s not a stat driven girl. She’s just somebody who sets the tone with how she plays.”
That was evident again against Dunmore. Every Lancer did her part and it was a fabulous collective performance which helped Loyalsock snap the District 2 champions’ 18-game winning streak. Still, Harden was a big-time catalyst, hounding Talutto and other ball-handlers. She made three steals, but more important, seemed to be everywhere at once and helped make sure Dunmore that could never find the gear which helped it rout so many teams this season.
And when Harden did make her steals, Loyalsock converted nearly every time. Harden did so once herself and her stellar play, especially, in the third quarter helped turn a close game into a blowout.
“When she gets one or two steals that ignites the whole team,” Loyalsock guard Lacey Kriebel said after scoring 24 points. “Her energy is our team’s energy. If she’s going 100 miles per hour, we’re all going 100 miles per hour.”
That is what makes Harden so valuable. She is a quality point guard and a tenacious defender, but her biggest asset might simply be her seemingly endless energy. That transfers throughout the team and has provided the District 4 champs a 1.21 jigawatt jolt all season. In a sense, this is a team full of Harden’s, each player emptying their tanks and fighting for every possession like it’s their last.
Having five players operating at that level at once is every bit as crucial as scoring, rebounding and any other stat one can think of. That is how winning happens, and Loyalsock has won 28 of 30 games while playing a demanding schedule all year.
“She’s one of those who everyone feeds off of how she’s playing,” senior forward Julie Ellis said. “She will play aggressive all game, whatever the score is or how she’s feeling or anything. She just goes and goes.”
Harden began showing those traits a year ago when she debuted at Loyalsock. Making a smooth transition after playing her freshman year at Williamsport, Harden developed into an outstanding reserve and a key player for a team which reached its first Final 4. That was a launching pad and Harden has taken off like a rocket since moving into the starting lineup.
It took just one game this season for Harden to show what was coming, too. Harden was all over the court against Central Mountain in Loyalsock’s season opener, defending at a high level, running the court well, scoring, rebounding … you get the idea. Whatever, Loyalsock needed, Harden kept delivering.
She finished that game with 11 points, eight steals, seven rebounds and six assists as Loyalsock won, 58-32. Not much has changed since then with Harden doing all she can on a nightly basis to help Loyalsock earn another hard-earned Final 4 opportunity.
Against Dunmore, that meant leading a defensive charge which would make the 1985 Bears smile. After taking a brief rest in the third quarter, Harden recharged her battery, heeded Jacobson’s advice and helped Loyalsock start landing the knockout blow.
“We got her a 30-second break and I said, ‘Go in and when ready but attack when you go in,’” Jacobson said. “Then the next play we get a rebound and she goes coast-to-coast and gets a layup. She has that in her.”
There is an irony here. Harden does not like attention. She is quite content doing her job, and staying in the background.
But when one plays the way Harden does, there is no avoiding the spotlight. Her stats might not jump off the page, but anyone who plays with or against Harden; anyone has coaches her or against her knows how absolutely vital she is to the team’s success
“When I’m scouting another team that’s what I’m looking for. It’s easy to say this girl averages this and this one averages that, but to find a player that does all the little things is what I value as a coach and when I value when I scout,” Jacobson said. “There are a lot of good players in our league, but she’s a first team player.
“She’s just a girl who gives everything she has all the time.”
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