GREEN POND - Little things mean a lot.

Northwestern learned that Thursday night in a 35-26 loss to Notre Dame Green Pond - the first loss of the season for the Tigers.

What little things cost them? Foul shooting and scoring in the paint, primarily.

The Tigers got to the foul line 12 times, but hit on only two of them. They also missed a total of 15 shots when they were able to work their way into the paint.

“You can’t do that,” said Northwestern coach Chris Deutsch of his team’s shortcomings against the Crusaders. “You’re in a big game like this, you can’t go 2-for-12 from the foul line, it’s unacceptable. And we missed 15 shots in the paint; you’ve got to make those opportunities, and we didn’t take advantage of that tonight.”

One of the other issues Northwestern had throughout the game was the play of Notre Dame junior guard Antonia Bates. Giving the Crusaders a strong presence around the basket, Bates had five blocked shots, which contributed to the Tigers’ shooting woes.

Trouble started early for Northwestern when Notre Dame senior Grace Medei opened with an early three-pointer. Neither team showed any type of explosiveness on offense in the first quarter, with Notre Dame holding a 7-2 advantage through the first eight minutes.

Bates opened the scoring in the second stanza when she hit a three to put the Crusaders up 10-2. The Tigers got their feet beneath them and went on a 7-0 run to make it a one-point game. But Notre Dame finished strong, and Sydney DeFranco’s three-pointer at the buzzer gave it a 17-11 lead at the break.

Deutsch credited Notre Dame with playing a strong game, but believes that in the end, his team simply didn’t execute.

“She was pretty rough, and I think she’s really good,” said Deutsch of Bates’ performance. “But I thought the difference in the game was more on what we weren’t doing.

“There were times that I thought we had her frustrated because we were tough on her. She’s going to score points because she’s good, but we couldn’t finish on our end, and that was the difference.”

With the help of Bates hitting from inside, the Crusaders opened a nine-point edge in the third quarter. But when Paige Sevrain worked her way to the basket, Northwestern was within 21-16 with 3:41 left in the quarter. That would be the closest the Tigers would get for the rest of the game.

Bates finished with a game-high 11 points, while Sevrain had nine for Northwestern.

RECENT REST ... Both teams had an extended amount of time off due to the weather, and Notre Dame had been waiting to turn things around after a loss to Palisades last week.

UP NEXT ... Northwestern won’t have to wait long for a chance to get back into good form as it hosts Saucon Valley tonight.

HURRY BACK ... Northwestern wasn’t helped by the fact that Tess Ledeboer missed her second straight game. The senior forward is a key part of the Tigers offense and has been missed.

SENIOR RECOGNITION ... The Crusaders celebrated Senior Night and included the Northwestern seniors in the celebration, recognizing each of them before the game and presenting them with a rose.

NORTHWESTERN LEHIGH

Betz 0-0-0-0, A. Lister 1-1-2-3, Miller 3-0-0-6, Jones 2-0-0-6, Funk 1-0-0-2, Nyce 0-0-4-0, Fisher 0-0-2-0, Sevrain 4-1-4-9, TOTALS: 11-2-12-26

NOTRE DAME

Medei 2-1-2-7, Grim 0-0-0-0, DeFranco 4-0-2-9, Gormley 0-0-0-0, Miklos 0-2-2-2, Cooper 3-0-0-6, Atileh 0-0-0-0, Bates 4-2-2-11, Altmire 0-0-0-0, Zambo 0-0-0-0, TOTALS: 13-5-8-35

Northwestern 2 9 7 8 - 26

Notre Dame 7 10 7 11 - 35

Three-pointers: NWL – Jones 2. NDGP – Medei 2, DeFranco 1, Bates 1.