ORWIGSBURG - With both Northern Lehigh and Williams Valley coming out in 2-3 zone defenses, it was obvious early that the team able to execute its half-court zone offense the best, was going to come out on top.

In the second half, that’s exactly what the Lady Dawgs did. Moving the ball crisply and finding buckets inside, they broke open a close game and pulled away for a 53-35 victory on Friday night in the quarterfinal round of the District 11 Class 2A playoffs.

“We knew they were going to come out in a 2-3 zone and it’s a tough 2-3 to play against,” said Northern Lehigh head coach Chris Heery. “In the first half, we were 2-for-11 from three, so we wanted to make an effort to get the ball inside more in the second half and get some better looks and we were able to do that.

“I thought we got some good looks all game long, but looking to the post more as the game went on was big for us.”

Northern Lehigh actually started looking to the paint more in the second quarter with post player Aubrey Pollard scoring nine points in the period. Pollard, who dominated the offensive glass all night, helped the Lady Dawgs build a 25-19 late in the half, but a three-pointer by Ireland Kasper would pull the Vikings to within three points at the break.

“Give Pollard a ton of credit,” said Williams Valley head coach Shane Zellers. “She was able to get a bunch of offensive boards and then score on those opportunities.”

Time and again during the contest - especially in the first half - Williams Valley hit big triples to stay in the game. Five three-pointers in the first half kept the Vikings close. Mallory Miller (two), Jasmine Hechler and Quinn Smeltzer joined Kasper in hitting shots from beyond the arc.

“That’s who we have been all year. We have been able to make some big three’s all season long and we have relied on the shooting of Mallory Miller and Quinn Smeltzer,” said Zellers. “The three’s kept us in it tonight as well.

“But then as the game went on we weren’t able to get that big one we needed or a string a few outside shots together and they were able to go on a few runs in the second half.”

Leading by five (35-30) after three quarters of play, Northern Lehigh got a big three from point guard Cadence Whalen to start the fourth to extend the lead to eight. Yet another Miller triple would get Williams Valley back within five, but that’s when the Lady Dawgs would take control.

A Northern Lehigh defensive switch to man-to-man would give the Vikings some trouble, as the Lady Dawgs were able to force turnovers and get out in transition led by Katelynn Barthold. Barthold was able to get numerous deflections in the second half, helping her score nine points in the half. The transition opportunities would inspire a 15-2 Lady Dawgs’ run to end the game and close out the win.

“Defensively, I thought we weren’t being aggressive enough at the top at times. We wanted to be more aggressive at those guard spots, and we wanted to get out and score some more transition points,” said Heery. “So we made the switch to man and it was exciting to see us really get after it and make that big run and close the game out.”

SCORING LEADERS … Pollard finished with 17 points and an impressive 17 rebounds for Northern Lehigh. Katelynn Barthold added 15 and Tegan Simms tallied 10. For the Vikings, Miller led the way with 11 points.

FOURTH QUARTER FRENZY … Northern Lehigh’s defense got after it in the fourth quarter, forcing numerous turnovers and holding the Vikings to just five points.

NEXT UP … The No. 4 seeded Lady Dawgs will now move onto the 2A semis to face off with No. 1 seed Marian on Tuesday at a time and place to be announced.

NO. LEHIGH

Whalen 2-0-0-5, Williams 0-0-0-0, K. Barthold 7-1-1-15, Pollard 7-3-5-17, D. Barthold 0-4-6-4, Richards 0-0-0-0, Simms 4-0-0-10, Snyder 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 21-8-12-53

WILLIAMS VALLEY

Heisey 0-0-0-0, Kobularik 0-0-0-0, Hecher 2-0-0-6, Miller 4-0-0-11, Q. Smeltz 3-0-0-8, S. Smeltz 3-1-2-7, Kasper 1-0-0-3. TOTALS: 13-1-2-35.

No. Lehigh 11 14 10 18 - 53

Williams Valley 7 15 8 5 - 35

Three-pointers: No. Lehigh - Simms 2, Whalen 1. Williams Valley: Miller 3, Hechler 2, Q. Smeltz 2, Kasper 1.