When Salisbury traveled to Southern Lehigh on Friday night, it was without question the Falcons’ toughest game to-date. It’s more than likely going to be tougher than any other contest they have to close out the season.

And it showed from the tip why plenty have pegged Southern Lehigh as the top girls team in the Colonial League.

By the time Salisbury had to use its first timeout just 3:27 into the first quarter, Southern Lehigh had already jumped out to a 9-2 advantage. The Falcons never rebounded from that deficit. Southern Lehigh (12-1 overall, 10-0 in Colonial League) led 16-6 after the first quarter and grew the lead to 20 points at halftime before defeating the Falcons 51-25 last week.

“In all honesty, they’re just very good,” head coach Joe Mladosich said. “I’m not saying we can’t play better when we play them next time. But they are very good. They play well together. Their guards are very good.”

Southern Lehigh is the only unbeaten team in the Colonial League and holds a game-and-a-half lead over Salisbury in the West Division standings. The Falcons hadn’t lost in league play before Friday night.

Turnovers were a big problem for Salisbury (8-5, 8-1) from the get-go, along with Southern Lehigh’s dominance on the glass, particularly on the offensive end. Nine first-quarter turnovers didn’t help the Falcons early on as the Spartans jumped out to a 13-2 lead.

It didn’t get better once the second quarter got underway. To go along with six Falcon turnovers over the next eight minutes, the team also struggled from the field, going 2-for-8. Lindsay Bauer, who finished with a team-high nine points, scored all four Salisbury points in that second quarter.

“We didn’t play very well,” Mladosich said. “Not to take away from them, but we looked a little flustered in the beginning. We didn’t handle the ball very well. They do apply a lot of pressure.”

Southern Lehigh, meanwhile, did what it was supposed to do on its home floor. Guards Amanda Mobley and Sydney Cyr scored nine and seven points apiece, respectively, in the first half to push the Spartans’ lead to 30-10 at intermission. Olivia Snyder had eight at halftime to round out a three-headed monster for Southern Lehigh.

The Spartans, behind seven third-quarter points from Ellie Cassel, led by as many at 24 points in the third quarter and coasted over the final eight minutes.

“We couldn’t go man because they are very difficult to guard for us,” Mladosich said. “But you have to give your best effort. Now we know where to improve.”

Cassel’s 13 points and seven rebounds led the way for Southern Lehigh, and Snyder was the other Spartan to finish in double figures with 12. But Mobley-nine points, eight assists, six steals, five blocks-was the real difference-maker, making all of the right plays when needed.

Bauer, the Falcons’ top scoring threat, was held to a 4-for-16 shooting night.

“They played straight man-to-man, and they just denied her the ball,” Mladosich said.

Salisbury kept pace in the Colonial League after responding with a 36-27 win over Catasauqua on Monday night.