Last season, Manteno girls basketball coach Bethany Stritar proudly called Emily Horath the Panthers’ best kept secret.

The secret’s gotten out this year. Horath is a full-fledged two-way star.

At the top of the Panthers’ stingy 1-2-2 press, Horath helped Manteno cause extreme havoc in Tuesday’s IHSA Class 2A Pontiac Sectional semifinal against St. Joseph-Ogden, where the Panthers forced 23 turnovers.

Offensively, the senior forward had as dominant a run as can be in the second half, scoring 13 straight Manteno points and a game-high 19 points in a 44-23 win that has the Panthers in the sectional championship round for just the second time in school history.

“She’s been insane this postseason,” Panthers junior center Maddy Gesky, who wasn’t far behind with 18 points, said. “It’s incredible, and it definitely sets the mood for the rest of us and makes our jobs 10 times easier.”

The Panthers (27-6) never trailed Tuesday, getting an early Gesky bucket and never looking back. Gesky, the Panthers’ career scoring leader, was a menace in the first half, where she tallied 16 of her points.

As the double teams became more frequent to Gesky’s side in the second half, Horath took advantage. She converted four straight old-fashioned three-point plays between the final minute of the third and first three of the fourth, adding a free throw a possession later to give her 13 straight Panther points as their lead swole from 28-16 to 40-22.

Horath credited the presence of her junior teammate and their shared knack for hitting the offensive glass – they each had four offensive rebounds – for her unbelievable spurt.

“It’s great,” Horath said. “Me and Maddy, we love to get in there and just get the offensive rebound and get us a second chance going. We work really well down there, and that’s a great part of our games.”

But there’s no doubt that Horath and the Panthers made their biggest impact on the defensive end. The Spartans (20-11) struggled to get the ball across half court for most of the night. When they did, they shot just 8 for 33 (24%) from the field.

“This was probably our best defensive night,” Horath said. “We’ve really picked up the defense the last two games. Even in the last game (a 50-37 win over Wilmington in the Class 2A Seneca Regional championship), we played really good defense. This postseason run we’ve been told to run, push on defense. Defense will cause our offense to work out.”

Horath, who was joined by Gesky and Alyssa Singleton with five steals apiece, moved to the top of that 1-2-2 press a year ago and has only grown in her role since.

“She’s always been a hustle player,” Stritar said. “She just has the want, the will to go get that basketball. She will dive on the floor, touch it, whatever she’s got to do, she’s going to get that basketball.”

Horath added six rebounds to her 19 points and five steals, while Gesky tallied a double-double with her 18 points and 12 rebounds. Singleton added five points.

As they continue to add on to their winningest season in program history, the Panthers have the chance to make an even bigger case for best team in school history when they return to Pontiac on Thursday, taking on the host Indians at 7 p.m. for the chance to win their first-ever sectional.

“Tonight we’re all super happy, going to be excited and care about it,” Horath said. “But tomorrow we’ve got to turn around and get ready for a big Pontiac game on Thursday.”

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Girls Basketball: IHSA Class 2A Pontiac Sectional semis - Manteno vs. St. Joseph-Ogden Manteno players celebrate a drawn foul by teammate Emily Horath during the Panthers’ 44-23 victory over St. Joseph-Ogden in the IHSA Class 2A Pontiac Sectional semifinal on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, at Pontiac Township High School. (Tiffany Blanchette)