Usual scenes from a Lady Tigers basketball game include Trista Cunningham exploding to the basket for layups, a few clutch three-pointers from Sabrina Mertz and Erika Thomas chipping in with some nice outside shots of her own.

However, those were few and far between, if they happened at all, last Wednesday night at Northern Lehigh High School as second-seeded Northwestern (24-2 overall) fell to No. 3 Allentown Central Catholic, 43-30, in the District 11 Class AAA semifinal.

"Give them credit, they played very good defense," head coach Chris Deutsch said of Central as they held his squad to its lowest scoring total of the season. "They were up on our shooters and it was physical."

Even though the usual offensive production wasn't there, the Lady Tigers were in it all the way to the end.

Sophomore Megan Landrigan, who paced Northwestern with 11 points, got the Lady Tigers on the board first with a three-pointer to get out to an early lead. A pair of free throws put Northwestern ahead 5-0 with 4:53 remaining in the first, which would be its largest lead of the game.

Central (23-3) fought back as Emma Redding and Alyssa Mack, the latter of whom posted a game-high 17 points, combined for all eleven of the Vikettes' first-quarter points over the final four minutes of the period to take an 11-8 lead after one.

Both teams struggled offensively early in the second as Central turned the ball over on four of its first five trips down the court. Another trey by Landrigan knotted it up at 11, but Central connected on two three-pointers before halftime to take a 17-13 advantage into the locker room.

"That was one of the best defenses I've seen all year," said Cunningham, who finished with five points, her lowest total since she posted three points in the season opener.

"We got off to a good start," said Deutsch. "We got the first five points, but after that we struggled. They were physical and [the refs] were letting us play."

That aggressive play continued into the third where again both squads struggled to find their offensive firepower as both teams only scored three points each, but combined for nine turnovers.

Junior Sarah Segan (eight points, four rebounds) had all three points for Northwestern in the third, all of which came from the foul line as the Lady Tigers went 0-5 from the field that frame.

"Both teams struggled for three quarters," Deutsch said. "There was little offense either way."

Central clung to a 20-16 edge going into the fourth, where both teams found their offensive ways, with the Vikettes scoring more in the final eight minutes of play than the first three quarters combined.

After a bucket by Mack to open the fourth, Northwestern went on a 4-0 run to pull within two with 6:04 left. Back-to-back baskets by Central pushed their lead to 26-20 and forced Deutsch to do something he didn't want to do.

"I think the key was that we got exposed a bit defensively," Deutsch said. "Our defense was good for three quarters, but then we had to go man after they got up eight. It was tough because I thought our zone was pretty good."

The Lady Tigers gave it one last shot at a comeback as Mertz (five points, one rebound) netted a high-arching three-pointer from the corner to make it 30-23 with 3:22 left. Cunningham missed two free throws on the next possession before Segan and Landrigan made back-to-back threes to make it 33-29 with 1:19 left.

Inbounding the ball on the next possession, Central found a streaking Olivia Roseman (12 points, four rebounds) down the court. Roseman was fouled by Segan as she made a layup. The foul was ruled intentional, giving her two free throws in addition to the basket. The junior made both foul shots, increasing the Vikettes lead to 37-29, and advancing them to the district final while qualifying them for the PIAA tournament and ending the Lady Tigers' 2013-14 campaign.

"Give them the credit," Deutsch said. "They were the better team tonight. There is no doubt about that."