The Lady Tigers picked up their ninth and 10th straight wins this past week with a 50-15 victory over Salisbury and a 59-20 win over Southern Lehigh on Saturday. The wins push their overall record to 15-3 with an 11-1 record in Colonial League games.

The easy victories gave head coach Chris Deutsch an opportunity to give more playing time to his young players coming off the bench and they responded well. At various points in the season, the bench has provided respite for the starters in games with a large margin of victory, while in close games, the bench has played a key role in helping push Northwestern Lehigh to a win.

Against Southern Lehigh, senior Brynn Balliet, who is usually the first player to come off the bench, was bumped into a starting role when starter Rachel Dorney sat out with an injury. The domino effect moved other players up a notch and they were on the court for more minutes because of Northwestern’s healthy lead throughout the game.

“We have some talented players to bring off the bench and that gives us some options,” said Deutsch earlier this season. “We have Nina Miller back from an injury and of course, with Brynn and Syd (Sydney Nyce) and Rylee (McGinley) able to hit threes and Olivia (Minnich) being able to help us defensively, we have some good options. I like to get them as much playing time as possible when I can because you never know when they might have to step up in a big game and I want them to be prepared.”

The role players consist of two seniors (Balliet and Maria Kirkopoulos), three juniors (Miller, Nyce and Gabrielle Gober), two sophomores (Minnich and Sadie Fenstermaker) and two freshmen (Paige Bissell and McGinley) and have averaged just under 10 points per game this season for the Lady Tigers.

Nyce has played in all 17 games this season and has averaged three points per game for Northwestern Lehigh, while McGinley, who is third on the team with 12 threes behind starters Cara Thomas (21) and Brooke Balliet (18), leads the backup players in scoring with 3.75 points per game. The good news for Northwestern Lehigh is that all three are just freshmen, with Thomas and Balliet having earned starting roles in their first varsity season.

“I have really worked on my three-point shooting,” said McGinley, crediting her father with improving her game. “My dad was always a really good shooter and I have learned pretty much everything I know about the game from him. He has really helped me to get better by just working with me in the yard over the summer and pointing out some things that he notices.”

For Miller, the frustrating part came while she nursed an injury early in the season but is back and contributing. The junior combines a tenacious defensive mentality with the ability to find open players and get the ball to them in position to make a shot.

“I feel like I help most in assists and that’s what I focus on doing really well,” said Miller. “I am better at doing that than at getting points or steals, so I do what helps the team the most.”

Minnich is a student of the game, soaking up as much as she can, not just from the coaching staff, but from other players as well.

“When I am on the bench I like to just watch the game and learn as much as I can about the other team and the coaches have really stressed that,” said the sophomore. “[Coaches] stress watching what is going on so that we know what to do when we get into the game, and we are better prepared to play.”

While all three have their sights set on cracking the starting lineup, they also realize just how important their role is coming off the bench. They have accepted the responsibility and work just as hard at getting better as role players as the starters do to prepare for their jobs in the game.

“Our job as bench players is to be able to come onto the court, be focused and do what we need to do for our team,” said Miller. “Rather than worry about not starting and falling into that mentality, you want to help however you can and help to build the team.”