When two different styles of basketball clash against each other, it becomes a question of which one will outlast the other.

That was the story between Lehighton and Whitehall in the semifinals of the Lady Indian Holiday Classic on Friday morning.

The Indians controlled the paint throughout the game, while the Zephyrs used their range to stay close and eventually take a fourth-quarter lead. However, the Tribe responded with a late run to go back in front and earn a 54-43 victory.

Lehighton’s strategy was simple: drive to the basket as much as possible offensively and keep Whitehall to the perimeter defensively.

The duo of Olivia Serfass and Ryleigh Trotman provided the inside presence needed to make this strategy work as the Indians had their way in the paint throughout the first half. Serfass tallied 10 points during the first two quarters and forced four Whitehall fouls.

Forced to the outside, the Zephyrs relied on their shooting to stay within reach. Corynn Troxell led all scorers in the first half with 11 points, including a trio of threes, but Lehighton still managed to hold a 24-20 advantage at the break.

Despite the close score, the game felt like it leaned heavily in the Indians favor with how well they played under the basket and put Whitehall’s starters at risk of fouling out.

“I thought in the first half, we had our better players in foul trouble and it came back to bite us during the second half,” Zephyr head coach James Middleton said. “We had to find somebody to guard (Trotman) because she was killing us down there, and the girls did a good job. Our girls did everything they could do, even with the foul trouble.”

Serfass and Trotman remained hot on the scoresheet in the second half as both finished with double-doubles; 23 points and 12 rebounds for Serfass, 15 points and 14 rebounds for Trotman.

“Both Riley and Olivia just do a tremendous job on the boards as well as providing points in the paint, and that’s creating opportunities for other people as well,” Tribe coach Nadia Gauronsky said. “Enough can’t be said about their senior leadership as well, which is something that I think showed on the court today while we were playing.”

Without being able to keep Serfass and Trotman off the scoreboard, the visitors had to match Lehighton’s physicality and effort to put up points. The changes paid off with a 20-point third quarter, including eight from Llyneida Otanez to put Whitehall in front after three and extend the lead to 43-39 early into the fourth.

Fortunately for the Indians, the foul trouble finally caught up to Whitehall in the fourth with Troxell fouling out and three other starters reaching four. This gave coach Gauronsky the flexibility to rotate her lineup and get other players into key defensive situations.

With the help of Leah Uyvari and Ava Serfass defensively, Lehighton turned defense into offense with a 15-0 run to take the lead and pull away for the win.

“I knew that my team needed me since I’m a senior leader, and I just felt like if I couldn’t put the points on the board, like I wasn’t all game, that I would show it on my defense so that I could get my team the ball and then we can score in another way,” Uyvari said.

“I think that we were down a little bit and we were in our heads, but I think we just stayed strong even after all the fouls we went through and just made our shots and kept going,” Serfass said.

The Indians kept undefeated season intact, and while it’s not always pretty, it’s a testament to something more than the numbers that show up on paper.

“We use the term ‘perseverance’ pretty often, and we talk about how basketball’s a game of ups and downs, and the season’s very long,” Gauronsky said. “It’s a marathon; not a sprint. So you’ve got to persevere through some hard times. When our foul shooting wasn’t so great in the first half, they found other ways to win, and they kept pushing and getting over that hurdle.”

LINE ADVANTAGE ... The Indians outscored their opponent by a 21-1 margin at the free throw line, with Olivia Serfass accounting for 11 of those makes.

PLAYING FOR GOLD … Lehighton will face Northern Lehigh in the tournament championship on Monday. The Bulldogs defeated East Stroudsburg South 53-32 in their semifinal matchup.

WHITEHALL

Otanez 5-0-4-12, Snyder 0-0-0-0, J. Wilson 2-0-0-5, Matthews 0-0-0-0, Alatzas 3-0-0-8, Troxell 5-1-2-14, Vazquez 0-0-0-0, Kneller 2-0-0-4. TOTALS: 17-1-6-43.

LEHIGHTON

O. Serfass 6-11-18-23, Reph 0-0-0-0, Uyvari 1-3-4-5, Trotman 6-3-4-15, A. Serfass 2-2-5-6, Parliman 1-2-2-5. TOTALS: 16-21-33-54.

Whitehall 8 12 20 3 - 43

Lehighton 9 15 15 15 - 54

Three-pointers: Whitehall - Troxell 3, Alatzas 2, Otanez 2, J. Wilson 1; Lehighton - Parliman 1.

Records: Whitehall (3-7); Lehighton (8-0).