For the first couple minutes, all the action was on one end of the court.

That was because Northwestern’s defense picked up steals the first three times Moravian Academy players got their hands on the ball.

In all, the Tigers had four steals in the first four minutes of the game and six steals on the night, resulting in 11 points.

The thefts helped Northwestern jump out to a 14-0 lead and coast to a 51-26 Colonial League win over the Lions.

When Moravian finally got the ball across midcourt, it was able to go on a bit of a run thanks to senior Gianna Tout-Puissant raining in three-pointers. The Lions made it a little closer (20-11) by the end of the first quarter but were unable to pick up any ground in the second even though they were able to slow down Paige Sevrain - who had eight points in the opening quarter.

“Our defense comes out with a lot of intensity and that carries over to our offense,” said Northwestern senior Maci Fisher, who finished with seven points. “We like to be able to stop the other team from scoring and get more shots for ourselves, and that contributes to the momentum.”

Brook Balliet hit an early three-pointer to open the game but lost her touch for a brief while before picking things up again early in the third quarter. The sophomore hit two more threes and went on to finish with 11 points in the game.

The third quarter also saw Sevrain get back into form, often fighting off three defenders to pick up points and finish with 16, while Cara Thomas added 13.

Tout-Puissant had the only points from the floor for Moravian until twin sister Tianna put in a shot early in the third quarter. The duo would be the only Lions with points that did not come from the foul line. Gianna finished with a game-high 18, while Tianna scored six.

“Our coaches always stress defense, and we have a lot of really good defensive players, but we also have players who can help on offense, so if one person’s shot isn’t falling, we have someone else to pick things up,” said Fisher.

With seven games in the last 15 days, Fisher admits that the team is tired, but they are ready to face the season’s final six games. The final stretch starts with games against Notre Dame Green Pond and Palmerton, with both coming on the road.

“We have had a lot of games recently and we are definitely run down, but we are still going out and still doing what we need to do to win and that’s what we have to do over the next week,” said Fisher. “Coach has given us the weekend off and we’ll come back strong on Monday and be ready for Notre Dame.”

RECORDS ... Northwestern extended its winning streak to 14 games and now sports a 15-1 overall record. The Tigers are also 11-1 in the league. The loss dropped Moravian to 5-9 and 5-8.

MOVING UP ... Sevrain’s 21 points against Freedom last week moved her into third place all-time among Northwestern girls. Her 16 points Friday put her at 1,100 career points, just 10 behind Dana Stellar for second place. The all-time scoring leader is Sara Jones, who finished with 1,246 points.

IVY TWINS ... Moravian Academy twins Gianna and Tianna Tout-Puissant are not just leaders on the court, but are leaders in the classroom, too. The pair are both heading to Harvard University after school to study medicine.

MORAVIAN ACADEMY

Borsuk 0-0-0-0, Dahl 0-0-0-0, Gordon 0-2-6-2, Noel 0-0-0-0, Nifong 0-0-0-0, T. Tout-Puissant 1-4-4-6, G. Tout-Puissant 6-1-2-18, Mitchell 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 7-7-12-26.

NORTHWESTERN

H. Gober 2-0-0-4, Balliet 3-2-4-11, Miller 0-0-0-0, Bissell 0-0-0-0, Freeman 0-0-0-0, McGinley 0-0-0-0, Thomas 6-1-3-12, Fenstermaker 0-0-0-0, Fisher 3-1-2-7, G. Gober 0-0-0-0, Sevrain 6-4-4-16. TOTALS: 20-8-13-51.

Moravian Acad. 11 5 3 7 - 26

Northwestern 20 7 18 6 - 51

Three-pointers: Moravian Academy - G. Tout-Puissant 5; Northwestern - Balliet 3.