Most people probably didn’t expect the Salisbury girls basketball team to be where it is now. And who could blame them after losing a talented senior class led by all-state honoree Meagan Eripret?

But not everyone had diminished the Lady Falcons’ hopes when this team stepped on the court for the first time together. Although senior Lindsay Bauer may have not envisioned quite the start Salisbury has strung together in the Colonial League, she knew that their was promise surrounding this group.

Led by Bauer, Salisbury (11-6 overall, 11-1 in Colonial League) took another step in proving the doubters wrong with a 53-19 win over Palmerton (4-15, 3-11) on Senior Night last Friday at Bill Paulik Court. Sydney Utesch, Kristen Bucchin and Victoria Tramonte are the other seniors who have all played key roles in pushing the Lady Falcons toward a league playoff spot after already clinching a berth in the District 11 Class AA Tournament.

“I knew what we were going to have and what we were going to be capable of coming into the season,” Bauer said after posting a game-high 22 points. “But I also knew that other people were going to underestimate us. I didn’t necessarily think of that as a bad thing. If you underestimate us, you’re going to come out thinking, ‘Hey this team isn’t that good. Look at who they lost.’ That just benefits us because they probably don’t expect us to be as good as we are.”

Utesch, who pitched in with eight points for the Lady Falcons and saw varsity experience last year, knew there was a talented unit returning this season as well. But she also understood just how vital it was for the underclassmen to fill the voids that were left from 2014-15. So far, they’ve done a solid job in that facet.

“I kind of knew what we were going into,” Utesch said. “I knew that we would all have to step up and really play together. Our juniors, I knew that they could do it because they’ve all had playing time.

“I had some confidence and I knew the league had lost quite a bit. It wasn’t just us. It was going to come down to who can get their underclassmen to step up and really pull the team together.”

While Salisbury scored the first six points to force a quick Palmerton timeout, the Blue Bombers steadily fought their way back into the game by the second quarter. Linnaea Leister’s three-pointer to open the second period knotted the game at 10.

But that’s when the Lady Falcons went on their signature roll of the game, scoring the next 10 points to open a 20-10 lead moments later. Bauer scored the first eight points of that spurt, getting out in transition for two key back-to-back Salisbury field goals.

“Continuing to win and play well together is really important with these tough games coming up,” Bauer said. “The snow kind of messed up our schedule, so all of our tough games are more towards the end of the season.”

The Lady Falcons’ grew their lead to 27-14 going into halftime and ballooned it to 44-17 after three quarters. Palmerton attempted just three field goals in that dreadful third period and was forced into six turnovers.

Two games that had been rescheduled are already in the books (a loss to Allen and a victory against Northern Lehigh). But the one that matters the most is the Notre Dame (Green Pond) game that has been rescheduled for Friday night at Salisbury. That contest is stationed right in the middle of a tough stretch that also includes Palisades (12-2, No. 3 in Colonial League ) on Thursday and Northwestern (10-4, No. 5 in Colonial League) next Monday.

“With our record right now, winning all of the games that we should win and winning games that are relatively close, that’s really important,” Bauer said. “Palisades, Notre Dame and Southern Lehigh, those are all tough games that we’re going to need to get it together for.”

And that Southern Lehigh game comes in the season finale, one in which the Lady Falcons would like to gain some revenge on their rivals down Route 309. Southern Lehigh handed Salisbury its only loss in conference play back on January 8.

“It’ll definitely show who is willing to work,” Utesch said. “They are all great teams. The Southern Lehigh game was quite a bit more disappointing than I wanted it to be, but it was what it was. Hopefully when we play them again we’ll have that homecourt advantage.”