Recent meetings between Pen Argyl and Northwestern have been hotly-contested games.

Earlier this season, the Tigers picked up a two-point win at Pen Argyl. And in last year’s Colonial League playoffs, the Green Knights led after three quarters before Northwestern battled back to win.

The two teams met again Saturday, and a scrappy Northwestern defense was able to gain control in posting a 51-36 victory.

The contest consisted of both teams taking turns going on runs to either expand their lead or get themselves back into the game.

Northwestern’s first run came in the first quarter when it went on a 7-0 spurt to lead 9-4 with 3:22 left in the quarter. The Tigers then used two three-pointers from Brook Balliet in the quarter and were up 14-7 when the horn sounded.

Pen Argyl looked to chip away, but Northwestern fought back. Late in the second quarter, the Tigers flexed their muscles when Nina Miller hit a three with :17.8 left on the clock and Balliet connected on two foul shots to give them a 28-18 advantage at the half.

Balliet finished the first half with 10 points and credited her teammates with getting her open shots.

“We really just played well as a team today,” said Balliet. “Our defense was good, and we did a good job of getting players open and getting the ball to them. I was open for some shots in the first half, and they kept feeding me the ball.”

If Balliet posed a problem for Pen Argyl, then Jillian Morro was a real issue for Northwestern.

Morro put on a clinic both offensively and defensively in the first half and had 14 points at the break. She also created turnovers and cut her way through traffic to move down the lane for points.

“She’s a really good player, and she’s tough to guard,” said Northwestern head coach Chris Deutsch. “I thought Nina (Miller) did a nice job on her overall, especially in the second half when she was able to get a couple steals and block a couple of shots.

“You just know coming in that she is going to be tough, so you just do the best job you can against her.”

Pen Argyl went on a 10-0 run late in the second quarter through the midway point of the third quarter to trim the deficit to 28-26. Deutsch called a timeout to settle his team down and the result was eight unanswered points. That started a 20-7 stretch that put the Tigers up by a game-high 15 points late in the final quarter.

With some defensive adjustments from both teams, Morro was held to six points in the second half and Balliet went scoreless over the final two quarters. When she was unable to get shots, Balliet willingly dished the ball to other players who had better looks at the basket.

“We always play unselfishly,” said Balliet. “They were on me a lot tighter in the second half, so we just went to other players, and they were able to get the points and help us.”

The offensive slack was picked up by freshman Hannah Gober, who had eight second-half points, and sophomore Cara Thomas, who recorded seven over the final two quarters.

“This really was a team win for us today,” said Deutsch. “They were really doing an excellent job on Paige (Sevrain), but we were able to go to other girls who stepped up. That’s our mentality that we never sit back and rely on one player to do everything.

“The girls really did a good job moving the ball around, and the defense was really good. We held them to 18 points in each half, and that’s good against that team because they can score some points.”

THE RECORDS ... Northwestern is now 10-1 overall and 6-1 in the league. The Tigers have won nine straight, with their only loss coming to Palmerton on Dec. 6. Pen Argyl dropped to 7-4 overall and 4-4 in the league. The Knights had won three in a row prior to Saturday’s loss.

PEN ARGYL

Wallbillich 3-2-2-10, Morro 7-5-9-20, Maggipinto 0-0-0-0, Marshall 1-0-0-2, O’Brien 1-0-0-2, Vargo 0-0-2-0, Weaver 1-0-0-2, TOTALS 13-7-13-36.

NORTHWESTERN

Gober 2-3-4-8, Balliet 3-2-3-10, Miller 1-0-0-3, McGinley 2-0-0-6, Thomas 3-4-4-11, Fisher 1-2-2-4, Sevrain 4-1-3-9, TOTALS 16-12-16-51.

Pen Argyl 7 11 12 6 - 36

Northwestern 14 14 10 13 - 51

Three-pointers: Pen Argyl - Wallbillich 2, Morro 1; Northwestern - Balliet 2, McGinley 2, H. Gober 1, Miller 1, Thomas 1.