A game between a pair of 16-win teams was a tale of two halves last Thursday.

Palmerton’s huge first half was the deciding factor as it remained undefeated with a 50-42 Colonial League victory over Northwestern.

The Tigers were down by 20 at intermission largely due to a disastrous second period. They tried to make a frantic comeback, but the deficit was just too much to overcome.

“We needed the time to get back our composure,” said Tigers head coach Chris Deutsch about the much-needed halftime break. “Down by three after the first period is no big deal, but we got rattled in the second. We needed to get control of our game and I think we did a pretty good job of that in the second half.”

Northwestern (16-4) began the game by jumping out to a 6-2 lead on three baskets by Paige Sevrain with a Palmerton layup by Bethie Morgan mixed in between. Both teams struggled to get into an offensive rhythm as they traded baskets with the period ending on a buzzer beating layup by the Bombers’ Brianna Moore to put the home team up 13-10.

After the Tigers’ Cara Thomas made two free throws to keep her team down by only three points, the Bombers (17-0) went on a 20-3 run to build a commanding 35-15 halftime lead. Moore scored 13 of her game high 26 points in the second with an assortment of driving layups, running one-handers and three-pointers.

“Give all the credit to her,” Deutsch said about Moore. “She’s very athletic and can score on any kind of a shot.”

The third period was highlighted by strong scoring runs from both teams. The Tigers made a bid to get back in it as Maci Fisher’s jump shot at the four-minute mark cut the deficit to 37-26. But then the Bombers scored seven straight points beginning with a long three and a running one-hander by Moore and ending with two free throws by Morgan.

Despite Sydney Nyce’s layup with 33 seconds left in the third, Palmerton’s lead stood tall at 44-28 going into the final eight minutes.

The Tigers again sliced the lead to 11 on a three-point basket by Brook Balliet with plenty of game left. Sevrain put the score at 46-37 on her layup with 3:40 to go. A free throw by Thomas cut the margin to eight points, but that’s the closest the Tigers’ comeback would get.

Northwestern failed to score from the field during a four-and-a-half minute span in the second period when Palmerton broke the game open.

Palmerton swept the two-game season series. After the game, both coaches said they wouldn’t be surprised if they met in for a third time in the post season.