The Palmerton girls took a 22-4 commanding lead and it proved to spelled the difference as they defeated Notre Dame of Green Pond 74-54 in a Colonial League contest.

"We took them out of anything they wanted to do with that first quarter," Palmerton head coach Don Delich admitted. "Our press was effective."That understatement rang true, as Notre Dame committed seven first quarter turnovers, leading to easy Palmerton buckets, as the Bombers repeatedly got lay-ups and fast break opportunities.If it weren't for that 18-point lead, the Blue and White would have only been up one going into the final eight minutes."That's always our objective, to get a quick start to put them down early," junior standout Kelsey Hay mentioned. In fact, Hay and teammate Casey Rinfret both had seven in that first frame, while Gina Farquhar added six.Instead of slowing the scoring down in the second, Notre Dame lifted its game and almost matched the Bombers. Katie Reimer came alive with eight points in the second, while Rinfret and Hay added four apiece. Meanwhile, Notre Dame got seven from Tara Gorman and two treys from Lexi McGivern."We had played a really tough, physical game against Saucon Monday night and I thought with the half day today, the girls would be a little tired or flat," Delich related.The third period saw both teams produce 16 points each, as the Bombers maintained their 59-40 advantage.Reimer poured in seven in the session, while Hay added four more. For Notre Dame (6-4, 4-2), Shannon Moran scored 11, while Brittany Pierzga added five.The Lady Bombers pulled away down the stretch, outscoring their foes, 25-14, for the big win.Hay had an outstanding all-around effort with a game-high 21 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Rinfret had 14 points, eight assists and three steals, Reimer chipped in with 17 points and Farquhar added 11.For Notre dame, Moran had a team-high 17 points, with McGivern chipped in with 10.In the JV game, Palmerton needed an overtime period to escape with a 24-20 win.NOTRE DAME GPSpirk 0-0-0-0, McGivern 3-2-2-10, Azzalina 1-3-4-6, Shupp 2-1-2-5, Pierzga 2-3-3-7, Moran 7-3-5-17, Gorman 3-1-2-7, A. Busalacchi 1-0-0-2, Gaffney 0-0-0-0, Cobone 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 19-13-18-54.PALMERTONSmith 1-0-0-2, Reimer 8-1-1-17, Rickert 0-0-0-0, Romano 2-0-0-4, Mummey 0-1-2-1, Meinhart 0-0-0-0, Eaton 0-0-0-0, Rinfret 6-2-3-14, Farquhar 4-3-3-11, Snyder 2-0-0-4, Hay 6-9-12-21. TOTALS: 29-16-21-74.No. Dame GP 4 20 16 14 - 54Palmerton 22 21 16 15 - 74Three pointers: ND - McGivern 2, Azzalina 1; Palmerton - none.