On Monday night, the Northwestern girls basketball team took on Salisbury in a key Colonial League clash with postseason seeding and a first-round home game on the line.

After the first half, The Lady Tigers trailed 21-16.So, head coach Chris Deutsch sought some advice from his assistant coaches shortly after the halftime whistle sounded."We came into the locker room at halftime, and before I talked to the kids I got all of the coaches together and asked 'What do you think?'… We used what both of them [assistant coaches Craig Mogel and Bob Mazziotta] said," said Deutsch.The adjustments and words of advice paid off. Northwestern quickly rallied in the third quarter to regain a six-point lead heading into the fourth. And despite a late meltdown, the Tigers clinched a home game with a 51-46 victory in overtime.Being able to receive suggestions and guidance from assistant coaches isn't a rare thing for head coaches today. But when those two assistants are former head coaches themselves with dozens of years of experience, it makes Deutsch's job much easier. It's a rarity that has benefited Deutsch over the years."It makes life a lot easier because they've been there, done that," Deutsch said. "When you have a lot of years of experience, they know what it's like to be a head coach. You really value their input when they have something to say because they know what it's about."Prior to coming back to Northwestern, Mogel spent seven years as the head coach at Saucon Valley. His last season was in 2013. Before that he spent plenty of time at Northampton and was the head coach in 2014, while also spending a number of years coaching in the Philadelphia area.Mazziotta, who has over 35 years of coaching experience himself, was most recently a head coach at Salisbury for three years. He also had six-year stints with the Northwestern girls and Notre Dame (Green Pond) boys in the 80s and early 90s, and was the lead man at Lehigh Carbon Community College from 1997 until 2005.Mazziotta is now in his fourth season under Deutsch. This is Mogel's fourth year, too, but his second straight after serving as an assistant in the past."Some people would not hire varsity coaches to surround them because they wouldn't be confident in their own skin," Deutsch said. "But I'm not afraid about that. If someone knows more about basketball than I do, that does not intimidate me or scare me. It's what's best for the girls."Deutsch is now nearing the end of season No. 13 in charge of the Northwestern girls. And the success has been plenty. He recently notched win No. 200 with the Lady Tigers. But despite all of the victories and championships, he's quick to point out his assistants."I always say, to be a head coach you need to surround yourself with the best assistant coaches you can," Deutsch said. "I think a lot of the success we've had at Northwestern all of these years, a lot of it goes to our players, but also our assistant coaches."I asked them for an opportunity because I really thought they could help us out," Deutsch said. "I'm glad that I asked both coaches because they both have been a big help to the program."The accolades are one thing, but one area that Deutsch has benefited the most is his confidence with so much talent surrounding him on the bench. And he has to be, because he wants his staff to speak up if they have a different opinion of their own on a certain play, a defensive scheme, or whatever the case may be."When you have people surrounding you that you believe in and trust, it gives you more confidence knowing that if you're not doing something right, they'll tell you about it," Deutsch said. "As a coach, we always second guess what we want to do. But that's one thing I always say to them, 'Let me know what you think.' 'Let me know what you think.'"His trust in the two, along with assistant Derrick Reinert, is evident as well. All have their own designated duties during practices and are in charge of other duties, including scouting reports."I can trust one of them if something would come up and they need to take over and run stuff for me," Deutsch said. "They can take care of it; I don't have to worry about it. They know what is expected."And they all know their roles - when to lend a few words and when to take a backseat. It's what has made this group so successful in recent years."It's just about being comfortable with them," Deutsch said. "They know when to say something and when to not."Much like has been the case in recent years, Northwestern is peaking at the right time as the postseason approaches. Despite losing one of Deutsch's most talented senior classes since joining the program, the Lady Tigers are right in the thick of things in the competitive Colonial League.The coaching staff now hopes the camaraderie they've built over the years pays off even more, possibly with a chance at another Colonial League championship or a deep run in the district tournament.*******THREE-POINT SHOOTOUT ... It's no secret that Panther Valley and Shenandoah Valley like to shoot the three-ball. When the two teams met on Saturday, there were a combined 22 three-pointers made in a game the Blue Devils prevailed by a score of 71-68. Shenandoah made 12 treys, while the Panthers buried 10 long balls. Panther Valley's Anthony Micholik and Matt Hudika both made five three-pointers apiece, which marked the first time in program history that Panther Valley had two players with five or more three-pointers in the same game. It is the second time this season that Micholik has made five treys in a contest. Shenandoah's Ian McCole also drained five three-pointers in the game.*******WHITE HOT ... Aside from Panther Valley's Anthony Micholik and Matt Hudika, Marian's Vanessa Whitecavage also connected for five three-ponters in the Fillies' win against Nativity on Tuesday, which marks the 18th time this season that a Times News-area player has recorded five or more three-pointers in a game.*******POINT(S) WELL TAKEN ... As the regular season winds to a close, scoring has heated up around the region. In the past seven days alone, there have been 18 times that a Times News area player has scored 20 or more points in a game (the most in any week this season). Northwestern's Erika Thomas, Palmerton's Spencer Hay and Jim Thorpe's Kayley Kovac each scored 20 or more points in all three of their games this week.*******KOVAC TOPS 1,000 ... Needing 14 points to reach the 1,000-point mark in her career, Jim Thorpe sophomore Kovac achieved the milestone in the third quarter of Tuesday's 56-36 loss at Blue Mountain. Kovac finished with 26 points to lead the Lady Olympians, after tying a career-high 35 points in Saturday's game against Pine Grove.*******WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS ... The Marian girls basketball team captured the Schuylkill League Division 3 championship for the fifth straight season with a 36-28 victory over Mahanoy Area on Thursday night. The Fillies will now advance to the Schuylkill League playoffs next week at Martz Hall, where they will join Blue Mountain, Minersville and Pottsville. The Schuykill League boys tournament will consist of Pottsville, Minersville, Shenandoah Valley and Blue Mountain.*******WIN AND IN ... Two more local teams secured District 11 playoff berths this past week, with the Marian boys and the Pleasant Valley girls each gaining pivotal wins. Marian's 60-23 Schuylkill League victory over Weatherly on Thursday qualified the Colts for the District 11 Class AA playoffs. Marian earned the bid by finishing over .500 in Schuylkill League play with its seventh victory (10-8, 7-4). Meanwhile, the Pleasant Valley girls punched their ticket into the District 11 Class AAAA tournament on Monday night with a 54-48 victory over Pocono Mountain East. The Lady Bears improved to 11-10 overall with one game to play. Marian and Pleasant Valley are the seventh and eighth Times News area teams to advance to the postseason, respectively.*******Every Thursday during the winter sports season, The Times News will publish its annual basketball notebook reflecting back on the week that was, and highlighting both individual and team accomplishments, as well as interesting information that may have occurred in games from the previous seven days. Today's notebook will look back on all the happenings from last Wednesday up through this past Tuesday. Times News sports writer Jason Boris will once again be handling the compilation of notes and is encouraging all local head coaches to email him with noteworthy information that can be used in this column. Emails can be sent to

jboris@tnonline.com.Jason Boris and Rod Heckman also contributed to the column