The Northwestern girls basketball team wasn't dealt any favors to open its season.

With games against three of the top Colonial League squads in Saucon Valley, Palmerton and Southern Lehigh, teams with a combined 13-3 record through Monday night, the Lady Tigers envisioned a tough stretch to open the year.

However, they did not expect an 0-3 start to open conference play. Despite those early struggles, there was no panic from head coach Chris Deutsch and his Lady Tigers.

Now at 2-3 in the Colonial League, the Lady Tigers picked up their first league victory against Moravian Academy on Friday night, 54-17. Northwestern raced out to a 23-2 advantage after the first quarter and never looked back.

"Definitely coming off of three league losses is not a good way to start," said Sarah Segan, who scored a team-high 10 points. "Coming out with this win helps bring our momentum going forward."

The Lady Tigers defeated Northern Lehigh the next day, 51-26.

"I think it's just having that energy and having that intensity that we used to have last year," Segan said. "We have to know that things aren't going to come easy at all. Everyone is going to be good."

From the opening tip, the Lady Tigers' pressure caused numerous problems for the Lions' offense. Those Moravian turnovers turned into countless points on the other end for Northwestern.

After Sabrina Mertz, who finished with eight points, hit a jumper with 2:54 to play in the first quarter that put Northwestern up 16-2, the Lady Tigers scored in transition as McKenzi Divers' layup and free throw made it 19-2.

Moments later, Mertz led a Northwestern break again, pulling up for a jumper that made it 21-2. Her steal and layup with 26 seconds remaining in the opening eight minutes then closed out a dominant eight-minute stretch.

"We can't just assume that we can jog to a ball," Segan said. "We have to make sure that we run to everything, and we have to put the highest pressure we can on people. If we can't do that, that's when teams can get around us. We have to make sure our defense is strong."

The Lions committed 23 turnovers on the night.

"If we know that's what makes teams frustrated, we have to do that," Segan said. "That's something that was one of our key points in past years. We always had tremendous defense. This year, looking at our first three league games, it just hasn't been there. We have to make sure we bring it back, and bring back what we're known for."

Northwestern grew its lead to 30-8 at halftime and led 38-10 after three quarters. The starters were held out for the entire fourth quarter, allowing a number of the younger players to gain varsity exposure.

Freshman Abigail Chisdak scored 10 points in that fourth quarter, while freshman Jessica Williamson added four.

Mikaela Koenig finished with eight points for Northwestern, while Neelam Ferrari paced Moravian with seven.

"We definitely brought up the intensity today [Friday]," Segan said. "It was hard for them to really do anything with the ball. That's something that we worked hard on yesterday, and we were able to apply that today."

The Lady Tigers return to Colonial League action next Friday against Bangor.