The Palmerton girls continue to play their style of basketball - press, create turnovers and completely discombulate the opposition.

That style worked to perfection once again on Monday night as the Blue Bombers rolled to a 50-21 Colonial League victory over Bangor.

“We’ve got a bunch of really good athletes, and we liked the up-tempo game,” said Palmerton coach Jeremy Coleman. “It wasn’t the most efficient game for us. Too many missed layups… too many missed foul shots.

“But with all the pressure we applied, it created more opportunities. We just have to do a little bit better job of converting those opportunities.”

While the Bombers may not have looked like the well-oiled machine they’ve been for a good stretch of the season, their ability to force turnovers and limit Bangor’s good looks at the basket was more than enough to allow them to stay unbeaten in league play (13-0), and improve their overall record to a sparkling 17-1.

Palmerton’s slow start offensively left them with just an 8-2 lead after the first quarter.

But as the Bombers started to convert their chances in the second quarter, the advantage quickly grew to a comfortable 25-7 halftime lead. Makayla Pengely, the quick Palmerton guard, cranked up the heat on the offensive side, scoring six of her 10 points in the run.

Meanwhile, Bangor wasn’t in sync as it coughed up the ball 28 times - with a majority of the turnovers caused by the Bombers’ trapping style of play.

“I thought our defense was very active,” Coleman said. “That’s the style of play that our kids like to play. We like to pressure the ball when the opportunity is there.”

Hannah Berry the team’s leading scorer, took over in the second half, knocking home 9 of her 12 points, six coming in the third quarter. Palmerton breezed in front 31-11 at one point and led 37-18 after three quarters.

“We’re not satisfied, that’s for sure,” Coleman said. “With the postseason just around the corner, we want to continue to get better.”

OFF THE GLASS

… Emma Rex came off the bench to grab a team-high seven rebounds for the Bombers.

FLOOR GAME

… Palmerton had just two turnovers as it consistently protects the ball and finds open spaces to make passes.

SHOOTING ... Neither team lit it up from the field, with Palmerton shooting just 16-for-55 (29%) from the floor and Bangor struggling through a 6-for-38 (16%)shooting night.

LEADING SLATERS ... Bangor (12-7, 9-6) never challenged the Bombers despite nice games from Aubrie LaBar (11 points) and Jace Polowy (16 rebounds).

GETTING CLOSER

… With just four league games remaining, Palmerton continues to motor toward the top spot in the CL, and a first-round bye in the league playoffs. Meanwhile, Bangor is in a battle to qualify for the six-team playoff. It currently holds a half-game edge over Catasauqua for the final spot.

JVs

… Palmerton won the opener, 46-30, as Holly Barry scored 18 points, Cate Morgan had 10 and Emma Rex tossed in nine.

BANGOR

Polowy 2-6-8-11, Figurski 2-0-0-4, Nelson 1-0-0-3, S, Hartzel 1-0-0-2, Richards 0-1-2-1, DellaPalu 0-0-0-0, G. Hartzel 0-0-0-0, Blaha 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 6-7-10-21.

PALMERTON

Han. Barry 5-0-0-12, Pengelly 4-1-2-10, Rex 1-4-6-7, S. Frantz 2-3-4-7, Connelly 2-1-2-5, Morgan 2-0-0-5, Baumgardt 0-3-6-3, Andrews 0-1-2-1, Schneider 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 16-13-22-50.

Bangor 2 5 11 3 – 21

Palmerton 8 17 12 13 – 50

Three-pointers: Bangor - Polowy 1, Nelson 1. Palmerton - Berry 1, Pengelly 1, Rex 1.