It might seem strange that the Northwestern Lehigh Lady Tigers can be 24-1 and wind up as the number-three seed in the District 11 4A classification. Well, in the 30-year-old words of Barbie, “Math is hard.”

In this case, the math is the District 11 power rating formula and it truly is hard. It starts with the Team Weighted Winning Percentage, which values wins and losses by the classification of the opponent.

This is where the top seed, Allentown Central Catholic gets a boost. By playing in the EPC, the Vikettes are primarily facing teams in the 6A classification, which helps their standing. The Tigers were also hurt when it came to Colonial League seeding, because their win over Palmerton – a 3A team – gave them less credit than did the Bombers win over the 4A Lady Tigers.

When the league rankings came down to the same formula, but only for league games, Palmerton got the edge in points, the top seed in the league playoffs and the first-round bye.

North Schuylkill, the number-two seed in District 11 Class 4A, played several teams from other districts, some of whom are in higher classifications and picked up extra points.

For Northwestern coach Chris Deutsch, having to play in the first round of leagues rather than having a little extra time off was an inconvenience, to say the least. The Lady Tigers battled through and easily beat Northern Lehigh to advance and went on to win the league championship for the third straight season.

In districts, Deutsch knows that no matter where his team was seeded, it was going to be a tough run.

“There are so many good 4A teams that it’s tough, no matter what you did during the regular season or where you come into districts,” said Deutsch. “Central Catholic and North Schuylkill are both very good teams and Blue Mountain and Jim Thorpe had very good seasons and even Saucon Valley won some big games, so it’s going to be tough no matter who you are.”

Northwestern opens play against Saucon Valley at Catasauqua High School Saturday afternoon. During the regular season, the Lady Tigers easily handled the Panthers, beating them 51-12 behind sophomores Brook Balliet, who scored 15 points, and Cara Thomas, who ended with 14.

One thing that does help is that the top three teams in the 4A classification all get invitations to states. If things play out by the numbers, Northwestern should be among those three teams.

If Northwestern beats Saucon Valley in the quarterfinals it would set up a semifinal matchup against North Schuylkill. A win over the Spartans would clinch a state playoff berth. A loss to NS would put the Tigers in a third-place game they would need to win to reach the state playoffs.

The Lady Tigers last district championship team was the 2006 team that featured three 1,000-point scorers in Dana Stellar, Caitlin Miller and Ali Horn.

“We don’t look too far ahead,” said Deutsch of his current team. “The girls aren’t caught up in the winning streak or how many wins we have. They’re proud of those things, but they aren’t caught up in worrying about them. They just keep playing hard and doing what they know they need to do to win.”