NORTHAMPTON — Palmerton started like it knew it deserved to be in a championship game.

But Notre Dame finished like it knew it deserved to be a champion.

After struggling early and trailing the entire first quarter, the Crusaders eventually flexed their muscles.

Notre Dame took the lead in the opening minute of the second quarter and methodically pulled away for a 50-28 victory and a District 11 Class 3A girls basketball championship.

“This was huge for our program,” said Notre Dame coach Josh Kopp. “We had a goal of winning a championship this season. We weren’t able to accomplish that in the Colonial League, but our girls got it done tonight.

“We hadn’t won a district championship in six years. We had some close calls during that span, so it was nice to finally get over the hump and get the district title.”

Notre Dame’s championship wasn’t as easy as the final score indicates, however.

Palmerton (11-13) jumped out to a 7-1 lead, holding the Crusaders without a field goal for almost seven minutes. The Bombers were on top 9-8 after one quarter.

The key to the Bombers early success was a hybrid defense that focused on shutting down Notre Dame’s leading scorer Cassie Murphy, a 6-0 center who scored 24 points when the teams met during the regular season.

“We were playing a kind of matchup man-to-man, but not guarding one of their players,” explained Palmerton coach Dan Beck. “We used our one free defender to double Murphy and try to deny her the ball when she would post up in the paint.”

The strategy worked to perfection as Palmerton held Murphy to just one first-half point. Meanwhile, the rest of the Crusaders were struggling from the field, going 2-for-14 in the first quarter.

“It was definitely worrisome,” said Kopp about his team’s slow start offensively. “They did a really nice job on Cassie and we were struggling with our shots.

“But I was confident someone would step up. I didn’t know who, but I knew someone would.” That someone was Grace Medei.

The sophomore point guard scored 10 second quarter points off a combination of jump shots and fastbreak layups, allowing Notre Dame to build a 25-16 lead.

“I was really happy with how we executed the game plan early,” said Beck. “We wanted a strong start and we got it. We wanted to not let Murphy beat us and we did that.

“Unfortunately, the other concern we had was protecting the ball and we didn’t do a good job of that. Notre Dame is quick and aggressive defensively. We don’t see many teams that pressure the ball like they do and we weren’t able to handle it as well as we would have liked.”

Notre Dame forced 28 turnovers, including 17 in the first half. A number of the Bomber miscues turned into transition layups for the Crusaders.

“Even though we weren’t shooting the ball well from the perimeter, we were able to generate enough offense through our defense to eventually take control,” said Kopp.

Notre Dame (23-3) extended its advantage to 38-21 after three quarters. Palmerton never got any closer in the final quarter.

“It’s always hard to lose,” said Palmerton senior Baylee Guedes, who had team-high totals of nine points and nine rebounds.”But I’m proud of how we battled.

“I thought we played really well in the first quarter, but to beat a team like Notre Dame, you need to play four great quarters and we didn’t do that.

“But the fact that we played them as tough as we did early, should give us confidence heading into the state playoffs. Playing against a great team like Notre Dame will makes us better moving forward.”

SHOOTING WOES ... Notre Dame was 16-for-53 from the floor (32 percent) while the Bombers were just 9-for-38 (24 percent).

TOP SCORERS ... Palmerton’s Kayla Cincilla matched Guedes for team-high scoring honors with nine points. Medei had 12 for ND and Murphy rebounded from her one-point opening half to finish with 11.

UP NEXT ... Palmerton will play the District 4 runner-up in the opening round of the state playoffs on Friday.

PALMERTON

H. Guedes 1-0-0-2, Papay 0-0-0-0, B. Guedes 3-3-6-9, Cincilla 2-3-6-9, Recker 0-0-0-0, Beahm 0-0-0-0, Nemeth 2-1-3-5, Moore 1-1-2-3, Nothstein 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 9-8-17-28.

NOTRE DAME

Medei 5-2-2-12, Grim 0-0-1-0, DeFranco 2-0-0-5, Wachter 1-0-0-2, Mickles 0-0-0-0, Cooper 2-0-0-6, Santos 0-0-0-0, Hezel 0-1-2-1, Bates 1-6-7-9, Nehme 0-0-0-0, Altmore 1-0-0-2, Murphy 3-5-6-11. TOTALS: 16-14-18-50.

Palmerton 9 7 5 7 - 28

Notre Dame 8 17 13 12 - 50

Three-pointers: Palmerton - Cincilla 2. Notre Dame - Cooper 2, DeFranco 1, Bates 1.