NOCKAMIXON TOWNSHIP - Northern Lehigh realized it had a tough task ahead in trying to stymie Colonial League MVP Trinity Williams at Palisades Thursday night.

The sixth-seeded Dawgs didn’t do enough to stop Williams - who had a game-high 33 points - as the sixth-seeded Pirates posted a 53-45 victory in a District 11 Class 3A quarterfinal contest.

Although they fell short, the Bulldogs did muster the kind of effort that could be a positive sign for the future of the young club.

“It’s hard to stop Williams, and we knew she would get her points,” said Northern Lehigh head coach Ken Shankweiler. “We have basically a young club, and we’ll have three starters back.

“We’ll have some nice kids coming up. We’re in good shape, and we expect to get back here.”

Northern Lehigh managed to stay within striking distance most of the game, and the Dawgs cut a steady seven- to-11-point deficit to 48-45 on Emma Niebell’s layup with 2:02 remaining in the game.

However, Palisades took advantage of the Dawgs being in the double-bonus penalty down the stretch and converted their final four points from the foul line, while Northern Lehigh couldn’t convert on the other end.

Freshman Aubrey Pollard led the Dawgs’ with 17 points and five rebounds, and junior Emma Neibell added 14 and six rebounds.

“We got close, but we couldn’t hit some shots at the end,” said Shankweiler. “Emma does everything for us, and her defense got better every game. With Brie (Pollard) being young, you can see that she is raw as a freshman and has a lot of talent.

“Our issue was that we have done nothing but play games. We had four games last week, and we had four out of five the previous week. We haven’t practiced, and didn’t have time to work on things.”

Pollard was happy to make a quick adjustment to the season.

“It was a little bit of pressure, but I got the gist of everything,” she said. “My teammates helped me out. It became smooth. I had fun along the way, and I became comfortable with everything.”

Niebell helped spark a late-third quarter run after the Dawgs’ had fallen behind by nine, as she had 10 of her 14 points in the second half.

She believed the team’s pandemic-adjusted schedule was a deterrent to more success.

“We’re a new team, and we were still learning how to play with each other,” she said. “If we had more games, we definitely could have been better.

“I think we played pretty well, but we just need to work on our team offense and to avoid turnovers. But we’ll be a better team next year.”

Senior Madison Seier, a four-year varsity player, likes the immediate prospects for the program.

“I see we have a lot of potential ahead,” said Seier. “I think coming in here we had a lot of nerves, and they had the home court and fans. Our second half was better.

“The girls we have returning should be something special next year.”

SHORT SEASON REWARDS ... The Dawgs finished with an overall 7-7 mark, but despite that, still managed to play in consecutive district tournaments for the first time in eight years.

RETURN ENGAGEMENTS ... Besides Seier, the Dawgs’ other senior was Emma Clark, who played for the first time since eighth grade this winter.

PALMERTON MATINEE ... Palisades, which returned to districts for the first time in three years, will travel to Palmerton to meet the second-seeded Blue Bombers for a 1 p.m. Saturday tap.

NORTHERN LEHIGH

Lear 0-0-0-0, Clark 1-0-0-2, Pollard 7-1-2-17, Seier 1-2-4-4, Niebell 3-8-8-14, Whalen 3-1-2-8, Peters 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-12-16-45.

PALISADES

Amato 2-0-0-4, Williams 15-3-4-33, A. Stiansen 1-1-2-3, L. Stiansen 1-0-0-3, Hiflerty 0-0-0-0, Martin 4-2-7-10, Meadows 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 23-6-13-53.

Northern Lehigh 11 12 9 13 - 45

Palisades 15 16 9 13 - 53

Three-pointers: Northern Lehigh - Pollard 2, Whalen 1; Palisades - L. Stiansen 1.