With a starting lineup of two juniors and three sophomores, there’s no denying that Northwestern Lehigh has a young team.

That team is off to a 2-1 start in the Colonial League, and 3-1 overall, after beating Northern Lehigh 48-47 Thursday night in the girls basketball version of Mountain Road Rumble.

Brook Balliet finished the night with a game-high 16 points for the Tigers.

One of the things that comes with youth is squandered opportunities.

Northwestern certainly could have had a much easier night had it not missed some shots, nor given the Bulldogs the chance to fight their way back from a 16-point deficit midway through the third quarter.

“We had 30 points in the first half but realistically, we should have had over 40. We missed some shots around the basket, which were free points that I thought we gave up,” said Tiger head coach Chris Deutsch. “Then in the second half, we had a 16-point lead and credit Northern Lehigh because we left some opportunities on the floor there, but we’ll take the win on the road.”

Northern Lehigh (0-3 Colonial, 1-4 overall) fought back from a 7-2 deficit to tie things up, only to see Northwestern go on a 12-0 run and by halftime, the Tigers held a 30-21 advantage.

In the third quarter, Balliet hit for two and gave Northwestern its biggest lead at 40-24, and it appeared like things were well in hand for the Tigers.

Little did they know that the Bulldogs would go on a 10-0 run that stretched into the fourth quarter until Emma Freeman ended the streak with a basket to make it 42-34.

Things got scary for the Tigers when Northern Lehigh went on a quick 5-0 run early in the fourth quarter and cut Northwestern’s lead down to 42-39.

Cara Thomas, who finished with 14 points, hit her third three-pointer of the night to put a band-aid on the bleeding and stretch the lead to six points.

Katie Barthold ripped off the band-aid with back-to-back baskets to make it 45-43 with just under two minutes left in regulation.

Sophomore Mallory Conner found herself open from outside the arc and took the open look, hitting the shot perfectly to push the Northwestern lead to 48-43.

If that was supposed to end the game, nobody told the Bulldogs, who fought right back.

Barthold made a foul shot and Aubrey Pollard buried a three with 1.4 seconds left to play, making it 48-47.

Northwestern put everybody into the backcourt to inbound, and Balliet took the inbound pass just over the midcourt stripe to end the game.

“Mallory’s shot was one of those where as a coach, you’re thinking ‘no, no, no, don’t do it.’ Then it goes in and you’re thinking ‘yes, yes, yes.’ We don’t want the girls to be afraid to shoot and she had an open look, so she made the play,” said Deutsch. “We love to see our players play with confidence, and that was what she did in that spot, and it was huge.”

MUST-SEE BASKETBALL … Pollard came into the game needing 20 points to reach the 1,000-point milestone. She finished the night with 15, which means she should reach the mark Monday night when the Bulldogs play at Palmerton. Northern Lehigh does not return home until Jan. 4 after playing four road games and a neutral site game between now and then.

STOP HER EARLY … Brook Balliet was shutout in the first half of the first two games of the season. She finished the two games with a total of 16 points though, with good second-half outings. Since then, she has 32 first-half points, and nine second-half points in three games. It’s working though, as Balliet is averaging 11.4 points per game for the Tigers.

NORTHWESTERN

Balliet 6-0-0-16, Schaffer 0-0-0-0, Freeman 3-0-2-8, Thomas 5-1-2-14, Fenstermaker 0-0-0-0, Conner 2-0-0-6, Gober 1-0-4-2, Reinhart 0-2-2-2. TOTALS: 17-3-10-48

NORTHERN LEHIGH

Motfit 0-0-0-0, Whalen 1-2-2-4, Williams 1-0-0-2, K. Barthold 4-5-10-13, Pollard 5-2-2-15, D. Barthold 2-0-0-4, Simms 3-0-0-9. TOTALS: 16-9-14-47

Northwestern 19 11 10 8 - 48

No. Lehigh 9 12 11 15 - 47

Three-pointers: Northwestern – Balliet 4, Thomas 3, Conner 2, Freeman 2; Northern Lehigh – Pollard 3, Simms 3