Northwestern not only packs experience, but it has size down low.

Both assets helped the Tigers roll to a 50-34 win over Emmaus on Saturday. It was their second straight non-league win to open the season, following on the heels of a 51-42 win over Whitehall in their season opener Friday night.

The sweep of Eastern Pennsylvania Conference squads has Northwestern feeling confident and ready for league play.

“I think it definitely boosts our confidence a lot, with non-league games and going in and beating both of the teams that we played,” said senior Sage Christopher, who scored 10 points in the win over the Hornets. “It gives us a better idea of how we’re going to play against teams in our league, and I think it’s going to help a lot of the girls. We’re not over-confident, but I think we’re going to go into those games stronger.”

Emily Sekerak commanded the inside, pulling down one rebound after another, and often pulling down an offensive rebound, only to put it right back up for points. Sekerak finished with 11 points. Sydney Sevrain led all scorers with 15 points in the game. Christopher, Sekerak and Sevrain rested most of the second half after Northwestern had taken a 32-10 halftime advantage.

Coach Chris Deutsch had high words of praise for all three of his key players, but noted that the effort went much deeper than just that trio.

“We got contributions from other starters who don’t always get recognition in Ali Lister and Mackenzie Hess. They both played a good role, and they know what their job is with this team,” said Deutsch. “Then, you have the girls – sophomores and freshmen for the most part – coming off of the bench and they do a solid job. Those girls are getting experience right now and it’s going to help them down the road.”

Deutsch had some questions about how good his offense would be this season and wondered too, about how his team would respond to playing two games in less than 24 hours against tough EPC teams. He came away with positive answers to both questions, and believes that the work his players put into preparing for the season paid off well.

“I don’t say this lightly and I’m not blowing smoke,” said Deutsch. “This is my 17th or 18th year here, and we’ve had some of the best practices that we’ve ever had, and that’s a real credit to these young ladies.”

THE BIG 5-0 ... Scoring 50 points in back-to-back games is nice, but it’s nothing new for the Tigers. They had a seven-game win streak last season where they scored at least 50 in every game and averaged 59.6 points during the streak. They also went 7-2 in their last nine games last season and scored at least 50 points in every game. It is impressive to start this season though since they lost four of their top five scorers from last year’s squad.

NOW, WE GET SERIOUS ... With two strong games against EPC teams, the Tigers now turn their attention to Colonial League play. The league schedule opens Tuesday night at Saucon Valley. The Tigers have a big test Friday when they face perennial league favorite Southern Lehigh.

NORTHWESTERN

Betz 1-0-0-2, Mack 0-0-0-0, Lister 3-2-2-8, Jones 0-0-0-0, Ledeboer 1-0-0-2, Sevrain 6-0-0-15, Hess 1-0-0-2, Sekerak 4-3-4-11, Grohotolski 0-0-0-0, Motolese 0-0-0-0. TOTALS 16-5-6-50

EMMAUS

Rollins 1-0-0-2, Glowacki 2-0-0-6, Burkhardt 3-4-6-12, Sisonick 1-1-2-3, Anthony 0-0-0-0, Wunderler 2-1-2-6, Brader 2-1-2-5, Martin 0-0-0-0. TOTALS 11-7-12-34

Northwestern 18 14 10 8 - 50

Emmaus 6 4 13 11 - 34

Three-pointers: Northwestern - Sevrain 3; Emmaus – Glowacki 2, Burkhardt 2, Wunderler 1