Adrenalin.

That’s the word Lehighton coach Joe Berezwick used to describe the relentless energy his team used in the fourth period of Friday night’s 52-46 victory over Northern Lehigh in the championship game of the Lady Indian Holiday Classic.

With 6:25 remaining in the third period, Northern Lehigh’s Aubrey Pollard scored on a putback to give the Bulldogs a 34-26 lead. But the Tribe scored the next eight points with Charli McHugh’s three-pointer knotting the score at 34-34.

The Bulldogs regained the lead with just :05 remaining in the quarter on Teegan Simms’ running one-hander that made it 36-34 heading into the final period.

Berezwick changed his defense from a zone to man-to-man to jump start the Lehighton comeback as the hardwood floor seemed to tilt in favor of the tournament’s host team.

“We needed to try and contain Barthold and Pollard and it worked,” Berezwick said. “We pressured the ball and got some transition baskets off turnovers. Then Emma (Repser) really did a great job on the boards.”

After Lehighton grabbed the lead in the final quarter, Northern Lehigh didn’t succumb quietly.

With three minutes to play, Simms brought her team to within two points at 42-40 on a driving layup and with a minute left, Kylee Snyder’s putback and free throw cut the Indian advantage to 44-43.

But the Indians found another gear.

Repser - who was a beast on the boards all night and had five straight offensive rebounds during one possession earlier in the final period - put her team up by three on a driving layup with 1:08 to go.

With Lehighton leading four four, Timara Klotz sunk a foul shot with :11 remaining to ice the game for Lehighton.

Early on, it didn’t look like the Indians would need a rally to pull it out as they scored the first six points of the game on triple by Leah Uyari, a banker by McHugh and a free throw by Klotz. The Bulldogs (3-6) cut the early lead to one on a three- ball by Simms and a layup from Katelyn Barthold.

The Indians answered with a bank shot from McHugh and five points from Repster. But Northern Lehigh battled back to tie the game at 11 at the end of the period on a running one hander by Barthold.

The score remained within three points in the second period, but with Barthold leading the charge, the Bulldogs had the better of the play in the final few minutes.

Northern Lehigh coach, Chris Heery was proud of his team’s performance.

“We played hard right until the end,” he said. “We tried several different defenses near the end, but we just couldn’t get the stops we needed to give us a chance to win.”

Berezwick, whose team won the title for the first time in his seven years at the helm, beamed with praise about the effort of his players.

“We don’t have much depth and our girls were gassed at the end, especially when we switched to the man defense,” he said. “But they had enough adrenalin to keep pushing and win the trophy.”

Lehighton (7-4) has been improving steadily since the start of the season.

“They check their egos at the door. They’re playing together as a unit,” said Berezwick, “The results are showing for sure.”

ALL STARS … Northern Lehigh’s Katelyn Barthold and Aubrey Pollard and Lehighton’s Emma Repser and Charli McHugh were selected to the All- Tournament team.

NORTHERN LEHIGH

K. Barthold 8-0-0-16, Pollard 4-3-5-12, Simms 3-0-0-7, Snyder 2-2-2-6, D. Barthold 2-0-0-5, Moffitt 0-0-0-0, Williams 0-0-0-0 TOTALS: 19-5-7-46.

LEHIGHTON

Resper 6-4-5-17, McHugh 5-0-0-11, Trotman 2-1-1-8, Costenbader 3-0-1-7, Klotz 2-2-5-6, Uyvari 1-0-0-3. TOTALS: 19-7-12-52.

No Lehigh 11 12 13 10 - 46

Lehighton 11 10 13 18 - 52

Three-pointers: No. Lehigh - Pollard 1, D. Barthold 1, Simms 1. Lehighton - McHugh 1, Trotman 1, Repser 1, Costenbader 1.