Northwestern used a 19-6 third frame to pull ahead of, and outlast a late Pleasant Valley comeback, to win 49-43 in a non-league matchup of two of the premier teams in the TIMES NEWS area.

Trailing by four at halftime, the Lady Tigers unloaded pressure on the inexperienced backcourt of the Bears, yielding 11 turnovers in the period. Sabrina Mertz's corner trey began a 14-0 run to start the second half, and ended on a Sarah Segan fast break lay-in, turning a four-point Pleasant Valley lead into a ten-point deficit.Despite the Bears' efforts to come back in the fourth, Northwestern held on for their second win in as many games to open up the season. After defeating Whitehall on Friday night, the victors took to the floor less than 24 hours later against the Bears, and improved to 2-0."I knew it was going to be a hard-fought game, even though they lost some players," Northwestern head coach Chris Deutsch admitted. "But with a short rest after last night's game, and Nadia's (Gauronsky) girls always play tough, so I knew it was going to be difficult game for us."Early on, the game proved to be exactly that, as the first half produced 14 lead changes and seven ties, before Masani Francis' fast-break lay-up gave Pleasant Valley a 23-21 lead with just under two minutes to go before half. A pair of Mackenzie Borger free throws and another Francis lay-up increased the swell to 27-21, before Segan's free throws ended the first half scoring."I told the girls, 'They're going to come out in a press, so please don't panic against it," coach Gauronsky recalled. "Northwestern came out in a press and we threw the ball away. But with two freshmen and a sophomore in there, the girls are going to make some turnovers. But they'll learn from it."A decisive Tiger outburst swayed the momentum in their favor, causing the hosts to play catch-up for the rest of the contest. Renee Milos' seven points in the final frame helped the Bears cut the Tiger lead to four with :46 left. However, a Mikaela Keenig lay-up produced the final tally."I thought that play out of a time-out was huge," Deutsch reiterated afterwards. "At that point, it was only a four-point game. She makes that and now it's a two-possession game, so that play was big, in my opinion."With the Tigers' one-two punch of fellow four-year starters and team leaders Sabrina Mertz and Sarah Segan on the floor, their squad is in good hands. However, when Mertz committed her fifth foul early in the final session, it caused some stress on the remaining backcourt for the winners. "We all tried to pick it up," Segan stated. "If that happens, in that situation, we need to make sure everyone is ready to step up and know their role out there on the floor."Deutsch was pleased with their ability to maintain. "We may not have played an 'A+' game today, but I thought the girls had poise, they didn't lose control out there, and I think that was the difference."Segan led the winners with 17 points in the game, while Mertz, Erika Thomas and Keenig all notched eight."It was a big win for us because we're still trying to figure ourselves out as a team," Segan mentioned. "After a game last night, and with Pleasant Valley being such a good team, we realize this is a big win for us."Meanwhile, Milos led the Bears with 17 points and 12 boards, proving to be a force inside, and aiding in the distinct height advantage her team held over the smaller Tigers. In fact, the Bears out-rebounded their opponents 35-26. Mackenzie Borger followed Milos with 10 points, while Francis' nine aided in the team effort.Both teams made mistakes in the early-season match-up, as the Tigers' 18 turnovers bested 25 from the Bears.In the JV contest, Northwestern prevailed 21-14, as Leighanna Lister scored eight for the junior Tigers.NORTHWESTERNStitzel 1-0-0-2, Mertz 1-3-6-6, Landrigan 3-0-0-8, Divers 0-0-0-0, Segan 5-4-6-17, Keenig 4-0-0-8, Thomas 4-0-0-8, Lister 0-0-0-0, Anderson 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 18-7-12-49.PLEASANT VALLEYBorger 3-4-5-10, Covart 0-0-0-0, Francis 3-3-4-9, Borden 0-0-0-0, Russell 2-1-2-5, Salmon 0-0-0-0, Fields 1-0-0-2, Milos 8-1-3-17. TOTALS: 17-9-14-43.Northwestern 14 9 19 7 - 49Pleasant Vy. 12 15 6 10 - 43Three Pointers: NW - Segan 3, Landrigan 2, Mertz 1; Pleasant Valley - none.