With a very young roster some early-season hiccups could have been possible for Northwestern Lehigh. So far, there has been just one hiccup and that was against Palmerton, the Colonial League’s silver medalists from a season ago. The Tigers are off to a 6-1 overall start and are 4-1 in the Colonial League.

Northwestern had to fight and claw its way to a one-point win over Northern Lehigh (0-4 Colonial, 1-5 overall) before picking up easier wins on the road at Pottsville (1-3 Schuylkill, 2-6) and Catasauqua (3-1, 5-2). If the youth showed at all over the past three games, it was against the Bulldogs when Northwestern opened a huge lead only to allow Northern Lehigh to climb back into the game.

“We had 30 points in the first half but realistically, we should have had over 40,” said Northwestern head coach Chris Deutsch. “We missed some shots around the basket which were free points that I thought we gave up. Then in the second half we had a 16-point lead and credit Northern Lehigh because we left some opportunities on the floor there, but we’ll take the win on the road.

By halftime, the Tigers were holding a 30-21 advantage and in the third quarter, Brook Balliet hit for two and gave Northwestern their biggest lead to that point at 40-24, and it looked like things were well in hand for the Tigers. Little did they know that the Bulldogs would go on a 10-0 run that stretched into the fourth quarter until Emma Freeman’s basket to make it 42-34.

The Tigers found themselves in a battle when Northern Lehigh went on a quick 5-0 run early in the fourth quarter and cut Northwestern’s lead down to 42-39. Cara Thomas, who finished with 14 points, hit her third three-pointer of the night, to put a band-aid on the bleeding and stretch the lead to six points. Katie Barthold ripped off the band-aid with back-to-back baskets to make it 45-43 with just under two minutes left in regulation.

Just as the young players missed some opportunities early, they took advantage of opportunities later in the game. Sophomore Mallory Conner found herself open from outside the arc and took the open look, hitting the shot perfectly to push the Northwestern lead to 48-43. If that was supposed to end the game, nobody told the Bulldogs, and they fought right back. Barthold made a foul shot and Aubrey Pollard buried a three with 1.4 seconds left to play, making it 48-47. Northwestern put everybody into the back court to inbound and Balliet took the inbound pass just over the midcourt stripe and ended the game.

“Mallory’s shot was one of those where as a coach, you’re thinking ‘no, no, no, don’t do it,’” said Deutsch. “Then it goes in and you’re thinking ‘yes, yes, yes.’ We don’t want the girls to be afraid to shoot and she had an open look, so she made the play. We love to see our players play with confidence and that was what she did in that spot, and it was huge.”

In the win over Catasauqua (3-1, 5-2), Thomas scored 16 points to lead the Tigers.

Northwestern has two games before the holiday break when they host Lehighton (2-2 Schuylkill League, 4-3 overall) and play at Blue Mountain (3-1 Schuylkill, 4-1 overall).