After cruising to five wins, all by 18 points or more, Northwestern got its first real test of the season last Thursday against defending District 11 Classs AAAA champ Bangor.

The Lady Slaters feature 6-foot center Morgan McCollian, a match up problem for a Tiger team that has no players taller than 5-10.

Despite a game-high 14-point effort from McCollian, Northwestern pulled out a 42-36 win, passing the test with flying colors. Strong defense and balanced scoring helped Northwestern come back from an early five-point deficit.

"Being in a close game," said freshman Erika Thomas, "just brings out a whole new side of the team and it brings us closer together."

The two undefeated teams came into the match up at 3-0 in the Colonial League and 5-0 overall.

Each team took control for part of the first half, but after intermission the Tigers grabbed the lead and refused to let go.

Northwestern fought through a 1-for-9 start in which it fell behind 6-2. The deficit didn't last long. A Sarah Segan three-point play ended a 9-0 Northwestern run and gave the Tigers a 13-8 lead after one quarter.

Bangor countered in the second quarter, using a 10-2 run to take a 20-15 lead with 3:45 left in the first half.

Northwestern closed out the half with its own run. Thomas hit a three-pointer. Sara Jones hit a jump shot with 1:56 left in the half that put her team ahead 24-22.

The Tigers clamped down on defense in the second half, allowing just six Bangor field goals after intermission while forcing 13 turnovers.

"Our defense won the game," said Deutsch. "We were pressuring them all over the court. We made them work for everything they got."

The Tigers got balanced scoring. Jones had a team-high 10. Thomas, Segan and Kaleen Suter scored eight points each.

The Tigers' other two key players in the game, Sabrina Mertz (six points) and Trista Cunningham (two points, seven reounds) contributed in other ways.

Mertz had four assists and four steals. She was responsible for a few other turnovers, forcing Slater mistakes with tenacious defense.

"She is our heart and soul on defense," said Jones. "She's everywhere, always disrupting everything."

Cunningham, listed at 5-foot-8, fronted McCollian, who worked for every one of her nine shots.

"Cunningham was an unsung player for us tonight," said Deutsch. "McCollian is one of the best big girls in the area and I thought Trista did a good job battling her all night long."

Northwestern pushed its lead as high as eight points, which came after Thomas' second three-pointer of the game and gave the Tigers a 33-25 lead with 2:11 left in the third quarter.

"That freshman hit two threes and that's six points right there," said Bangor head coach Bill Bisci. "And we lost by six. They were big shots."

Thomas, who played on the freshman team last year, has been coming off the bench all season and getting more and more comfortable with varsity basketball.

"I've been really looking forward to getting to that point and letting all my nerves go and just hitting a shot," she said.

"She handles the pressure so well," Jones said of Thomas. "I'm so proud of her. She's fearless. She adds so much to this team. She's a great sixth man to have."

Bangor cut the lead to three points when McCollian hit one of two foul shots with 3:01 left in the game, but the Tigers made five of six free throws in the final 1:10 to seal the win.

The win gives Northwestern a one-game lead in the Colonial League North Division standings. The Tigers and Notre Dame (Green Pond) are the only undefeated girls basketball teams left in the league.

Jones upped her career total scoring to 975 points against Bangor. The Tigers host Whitehall Friday afternoon and then get back into league plat at Catasauqua on Jan. 3.