Salisbury's girls basketball team has been searching for a statement win for the past few seasons.

The Lady Falcons got it last Thursday with a 42-41 win over league-leading Northwestern.

"Since I've been here I keep hearing that we don't beat anybody good," said Salisbury head coach Joe Mladosich. "To beat one of the best teams in the league helps to get us over the hump. We've competed with some of the better team. We just hadn't beaten them.

"I've never seen the kids so happy. Hopefully we can build on that."

Northwestern was fresh off a win over Southern Lehigh that made the Tigers the only unbeaten team left in the Colonial League.

Salisbury entered the game with three league losses and needed a win to stay close in the race for a league playoff spot.

The Falcons pulled ahead early and led 22-10 at halftime.

Northwestern came back in the second half, but a late three-pointer from Salisbury's Kelly Gonoude sealed the win.

Falcon junior center Meagan Eripret scored a game-high 18 points in the win.

"Meagan had a tremendous game and our guards played well against a team that has outstanding guards," said Mladosich. "If everybody comes together we'll be fine."

"It was a big confidence booster for us," said Eripret. "That's something that's going to push us forward for the next couple of games.

"I think we just kept up our excitement and our intensity going. Before the game we talked about wanting to be proud of ourselves when we left. We can honestly say that we were proud of ourselves when we left."

The Falcons (8-5 overall, 5-3 Colonial League) beat Notre Dame (East Stroudsburg) Saturday. Eripret scored a career-high 34 points against the Spartans to cross the 1,000-point threshold for her career.

As of Monday, the Falcons were second in District 11's Class AA power index. They need three wins to clinch a district berth.

The Falcons are also in the hunt the league playoffs. They are a game behind Bangor (6-2) and tied with Palmerton (3-4). Notre Dame (Green Pond) is 4-4, one full game behind Salisbury.

"We haven't been to leagues in years," said Eripret. "It's been a long time. That's another big thing we're starting to shoot for because all of a sudden it's real. We can actually make the league playoffs."

Salisbury has not made league playoffs since the 2004-05 season.