By this time of the basketball season, most teams have forged an identity.

Some are known for fast breaks in transition, while others rely heavily on perimeter shooting or scoring from inside the paint.

Since the beginning of the season, the Lehighton girls’ identity has been its man-to-man defense.

Monday night, that defense was the difference maker in a 44-31 Schuylkill League win over Tamaqua.

“This is how we have to play basketball,” said Lehighton coach Joe Berezwick. “We play strong defense and if we can keep the opponents’ score in the thirties, then we have a good chance to win.”

In the first period, Lehighton took an 11-9 lead. Emma Repsher scored off the tip on a driving layup for the game’s first basket. Lorela Plasha’s two free throws at 1:33 eventually pulled Tamaqua into a 6-6 tie, but Leah Uyvari drilled a three-pointer late in the quarter to give Lehighton the lead after one.

In the second period, the Tribe clamped down on the Raider offense, limiting them to only two baskets - one by Sarah Hope and the other by Sam Plasha. Lehighton was strong on the offensive boards with putback baskets by Timara Klotz and Ryleigh Trotman. Charli McHugh’s bucket off the glass gave her team an eight-point lead with three minutes to go before the intermission. Plasha’s two from the line, and her driving layup, cut the margin to four at 19-15. But, McHugh’s free throw and jumper lifted the Tribe to a 22-17 lead at the break.

“We played better than average defense, and we did a nice job against their perimeter shooters,” said Berezwick. “On offense, we attacked their zone and drew a lot of fouls.”

The third period would become the deciding eight minutes in the contest. Lehighton caused nine Raider turnovers, and limited them to just three points while the Tribe opened up a 13-point advantage. Klotz and Repsher scored on driving layups and a putback. Uyvari hit a triple, and McHugh found the net on a nifty turnaround jumper in the lane.

“We didn’t play basketball tonight. Too many empty possessions, too many turnovers and too many missed free throws,” said Tamaqua coach Erika Davis. “We didn’t move our feet to get open shots.”

The final eight minutes became very physical as the teams combined to attempt 22 of the game’s 50 free throws. In an attempt to come back from a double-digit deficit, the Raiders employed a full-court press that led to multiple fouls, and the Indians took advantage to score nine of their 11 points in the period from the line.

Lehighton had its own foul woes as Trotman fouled out with four minutes left, and Repsher commited her fifth personal with 1:49 to play.

“We kept them both on the court despite their foul trouble, and it ultimately worked out,” said Berezwick, “We didn’t let Tamaqua make a run.”

Despite his team holding onto a double-digit lead, Berezwick agonized through the long foul-plagued fourth period.

“The final eight minutes was too much for my comfort level,” he said with a laugh.

RECORDS ... Lehighton improves to 9-9 overall and 4-6 in the league. Tamaqua falls to 12-5 overall and 5-5 in the league.

11S ARE WILD … Lehighton scored exactly 11 points in all four quarters. Tamaqua added it own number 11 to the scoring column in the fourth period.

CAN’T CATCH US … Lehighton never trailed during the final 30 minutes and 27 seconds of the game.

SMALL WORLD … Shaina Gill, coach Berezwick’s daughter, and the scorekeeper for Lehighton have been friends with Tamaqua’s scorekeeper, Joanie Nowak for over 20 years. They both work for the Tamaqua Area School District. Gill is an administrative special education assistant, while Nowak works in the Human Resource department.

TAMAQUA

Hope 3-4-8-11, L. Plasha 2-4-6-8, Robb 0-4-4-4, S. Plasha 1-2-4-4, Black 2-0-4-4, Bartenope 0-0-2-0, Miller 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 8-14-30-31.

LEHIGHTON

McHugh 3-11-12-17, Klotz 5-0-0-10, Uyvari 3-1-2-7, Repsher 4-0-0-8, Trotman 1-0-0-2, Barthol 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-12-20-44.

Tamaqua 9 8 3 11 - 31

Lehighton 11 11 11 11 - 44

Three-pointers: Tamaqua - Hope 1; Lehighton - Uyvari 2.