Start fast, break the 50-point plateau and play good defense.

That formula worked perfectly for Northwestern Lehigh on Wednesday night.

The Tigers jumped out to an early double-digit lead, and backed it up with a stifling defensive effort to beat rival Northern Lehigh, 54-28, in a Colonial League girls basketball matchup.

Northwestern wasted little time getting on the board. On its first possession, senior Olivia Reinhart grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a short jumper to make it 2-0. From there, the Tigers put together two extended runs that quickly put the game under control.

The first was a 12-2 surge to close the opening quarter, with sophomore Natalie Conner scoring four of those points to give Northwestern a 14-7 edge after one. The Tigers followed with a 14-3 run midway through the second quarter, again sparked by Conner, who poured in nine points during that stretch to push the lead to 28-10 with 1:14 remaining before halftime.

Northwestern’s defense compounded the damage by forcing four turnovers during the run.

Senior Jaylene Ramos helped Northern Lehigh briefly find some footing, scoring on consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to 36-26 with two minutes left in the second quarter.

“I thought Ramos was really good,” Northwestern coach Chris Deutsch said. “She was very active and played really well for them tonight. She was phenomenal on the boards, especially on the offensive glass.”

Any momentum the Bulldogs hoped to build didn’t last long.

Northwestern’s defense clamped down after halftime, holding Northern Lehigh to just two points over the final 10 minutes. The Tigers turned defensive stops into transition baskets, and closed the game with their largest run of the night.

“I thought we did a good job defensively to hold them to 28 points,” Deutsch said. “We were a little shaky in the third quarter, but overall I thought we executed well. At times we ran our half-court offense very well. They were switching defenses, and we did a good job identifying what they were doing and adjusting.”

Throughout the night, Northwestern repeatedly shut down any attempt by the Bulldogs to gain momentum. Northern Lehigh’s Tegan Simms — who scored her 1,000th career point earlier this month against Catasauqua — was fouled on a missed 3-point attempt and calmly sank all three free throws. Northwestern answered immediately when Mallory Conner knocked down a pair of three-pointers to swing momentum back to the Tigers.

“They’re a good team — there’s a reason they have 15 wins,” Northern Lehigh coach Brandon Hibbler said. “We were able to win the third quarter, 13-8. We’re one good scorer away from being pretty good ourselves.”

When Northern Lehigh pulled within 10 points, freshman Charlotte Gober stepped up. She scored seven of her season-high 12 points in the fourth period.

“I think a large part of my role right now is watching the seniors and Natalie Conner, and just being a sponge,” Gober said. “We only get to have our seniors for so long, and they know how to play the game the right way. They have a lot more knowledge than I do.”

Whether it was Northwestern’s offense clicking or its defense tightening, the Tigers maintained a comfortable margin.

“I think defense is becoming our identity, but I like to think it’s my identity,” Mallory Conner said. “On nights when maybe you’re not shooting well, you can always give 100 percent on the defensive end. I’m always super keen on defense.”

Natalie Conner led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Charlotte Gober with 12. Simms paced Northern Lehigh with 11 points, while Ramos added eight.

FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND … Northwestern went 9-for-10 from the free-throw line, and is shooting 72 percent at the stripe this season. Gober was 5-for-5, and is now 20-for-22 (91 percent) on free throws. Reinhart is 35-for-43 (81 percent) from the line this season.

NORTHERN LEHIGH

Powell 0-0-0-0, Gad 1-0-0-2, Ash 0-0-0-0, Scholl 0-0-0-0, Ramos 4-0-0-8, Tosh 1-0-0-2, Wentz 0-0-0-0, Simms 3-3-5-11, Snyder 2-0-2-5. TOTALS: 11-3-7-28

NORTHWESTERN LEHIGH

Bernhard 0-0-0-0, C. Gober 3-5-5-12, Freeman 3-0-0-7, Zentz 0-0-0-0, J. Snyder 0-0-0-0, H. Gober 1-0-0-3, N. Conner 7-4-5-20, M. Conner 3-0-0-8, Leh 0-0-0-0, Reinhart 2-0-0-4. TOTALS: 19-9-10-54

Northern Lehigh 7 6 13 2 - 28

Northwestern 14 16 8 16 - 54

Three-pointers: NL – Simms 2, Snyder 1; NWL – N. Conner 2, M. Conner 2, C. Gober 1, H. Gober 1, Freeman 1

Records: NL 8-11, 6-10; NWL 15-3, 13-2