In a meeting between two contrasting girls’ basketball programs - one team filled with experience and the other trying to develop it - Northern Lehigh kept pressure on throughout the contest and pulled away from Panther Valley for a 64-53 non-league win on Saturday.

“I think we’re going to be competitive this year,” said Northern Lehigh rookie head coach Chris Heery, after watching his veteran squad perform.

Meanwhile, Panther Valley’s new coach, Rob Kovac, agreed that he’s in a building phase.

“I just wish we had more time,” he said. “We have so much we want to be able to teach, do, put in. But games get in the way. Today was one of those examples, but it was a good learning experience for us.”

Heery said he was pleased with his team’s season-opening performance.

“I thought our players played very hard, ran the floor really well, executed the plays well, and we didn’t give up on defense,” Heery said. “Panther Valley has a very good team. They have a couple of really nice shooters. If you let them open, they can really light it up.”

One of the decisive factors for the Bulldogs was the performance of senior guard Emma Niebell, who scored 21 points, hitting five three-pointers - four of them in the first half. She also was ruthless on the boards.

Heery, when asked about key players in the game, responded, “Mostly Emma, but it was a team effort. We had 62 points up there, so it came from everyone. Emma obviously was our key player tonight.”

For Panther Valley, no question the top performer was 5-3 junior guard Sera Robin, who cha-chinged 27 points. This included seven three-pointers, tying the school record performance of former player Megan Pascoe, who tallied seven treys on Dec. 9, 2019.

Robin has been a threat from beyond the arc throughout her three-year varsity career, hitting four three-pointers in a game during her freshman year.

“Sera Robin was spectacular for us today,” Kovac said.

Six of Robin’s three-pointers came in the second half when it seemed everything she touched was magnetized to the hoop.

“We had moments that were good. We had moments that were bad,” Kovac said. “We got killed on the boards to start. Defensively, it’s really hard to defend when you’re giving up three or four shots a trip.

“I’m proud of the way our kids battled. We had a lot of chances to pack it in, and we hung around with a team that was in the district playoffs. One of the things we emphasize. We took a timeout at one point, and I said ‘I don’t care about the score, but I’m not going to put up with a lack of effort.’ - and the kids responded to that.

“That’s the best lesson we could get out of today, regardless of the score, you keep playing hard.”

The Bulldogs had emerged to a 57-34 lead by the end of the third quarter, but the Panthers outscored Nolehi 19-7 in the final stanza. Nine of those points were from Robin, while Maddison Maynard added six. Maynard - who the night before in a win against Schuylkill Haven accumulated 23 points - was held in check by Northern Lehigh. It wasn’t until the third quarter that the promising sophomore got her first basket.

NO JV GAME ... The varsity game started an hour earlier than scheduled due to the last-minute cancellation of the junior varsity game.

GREAT FREE-THROW SHOOTING ... Northern Lehigh shot a phenomenal 10-for-10 from the free-throw line. Danielle Dougherty was six-for-six, and Niebell was four-for-four.

VERY YOUNG TEAM ... This year’s Panther Valley team has just one senior, Abigail Vermillion, who is a returning starter. There are just two juniors, five sophomores and five freshmen. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have four seniors, four juniors, two sophomores and five freshmen on their roster.

NORTHERN LEHIGH

K. Barthold 4-0-0-8, Richards 0-0-0-0, Zarayko 1-0-0-2, Whalen 4-0-0-11, Dougherty 1-6-6-8, Peters 3-0-0-6, Wilk 3-0-0-6, Klimek 1-0-0-2, Niebell 6-4-4-21, Steckel 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 23-10-10-64.

PANTHER VALLEY

Krapf 2-0-0-4, N. Vermillion 0-0-0-0, Maynard 4-3-7-12, A. Vermillion 0-0-0-0, O’Brien 0-0-0-0, Yuricheck 3-0-0-6, McAndrew 2-0-0-4, Robin 9-2-2-27. TOTALS: 20-5-9-53

No. Lehigh 15 18 24 7 - 64

Panther Vy. 7 13 14 19 - 53

Three-pointers: Northern Lehigh - Niebell 5, Whalen 3; Panther Valley - Robin 7, Maynard 1.