POTTSVILLE - Spacious Martz Hall wasn’t too friendly for the Northern Lehigh girls’ basketball team on Friday in the opening round of the District 11 Class 3A tournament.

Pine Grove has been there and done that when its comes to games at Martz Hall over the years. The Cardinals have a long and storied history when it comes to postseason games on the area’s biggest stage.

While Pine Grove’s history prevented any Martz Hall stage fright, the same couldn’t be said for the Bulldogs.

The result was a 44-27 Pine Grove victory.

“We surely had some jitters, especially early on,” said first-year Northern Lehigh coach Chris Heery. “It was a big game for us ... big game, big complex, and it was understandable that our girls had some jitters.”

Despite the nerves that Northern Lehigh had to overcome, the game was much closer than the final score indicates. In fact, the Bulldogs trailed by just two points early in the second half.

“I was proud of how we fought and battled,” Heery said. “We needed to finish better on our end. We got the ball to the basket we just didn’t finish enough to beat a good team like Pine Grove.”

Despite nine opening quarter turnovers, Northern Lehigh found itself tied at 8-8 thanks to a late surge led by their all-everything standout Emma Neiball and sophomore Cadence Whalen.

“Emma has led us all season, and she’s been our go-to girl,” Heery said.

The Cardinals reeled off a 6-2 run to close the second quarter that gave them an 17-12 halftime lead.

Although the Bulldogs were struggling offensively, they were still in the game thanks to a strong defensive effort on Pine Grove star Mikaili Donmoyer, who scored just two points in the half.

“We wanted to get her in foul trouble, which we did,” Heery said. “Containing her was definitely a big part of our game plan.”

Donmoyer wasted little time in getting untracked in the third quarter as her three-ball to open the second half made it 20-12.

Undaunted, Northern Lehigh quickly answered with a six-point run that was ignited by a three-point play from freshman Katelynn Barthold.

“I thought we had a lot going there for us when we made that run,” Heery said. “But they had that answer.”

Indeed, they did.

Pine Grove scored eight straight points as Lindsey Wolff nailed a quick bucket off a NL turnover, and Marissa Stewart and Kyla Koons followed with treys.

Pine Grove continued to pad its lead in the fourth quarter.

“Our goal was to hold No. 40 (Neiball) to under 10 points and we allowed her only nine,” said Pine Grove coach Kyler Burke, “We knew coming in how good she was and she could carry them if she got on a streak.”

OFF THE GLASS … Pine Grove (14-9) had a decisive 39-23 rebounding edge, including 11 offensive boards.

SHOOTNG IT UP … Bulldogs struggled from the floor going 9-for-36. Pine Grove finished 15-for-43.

LEADERS OF THE PACK … Felty led all scorers with 15, and Donmoyer added 10. Niebell and Whalen had nine points apiece for the Bulldogs (12-11).

BIDDING ADIEU … Seniors Raven Klimek, Sophia Lear, Stefany Stecke and Neiball played their final games for the Bulldogs.

KEEP AN EYE ON … Freshman Barthold and sophomore Whalen showed a lot of potential for Northern Lehigh.

NORTHERN LEHIGH

Neiball 3-2-3-9, 3-2-2-9, Whalen 3-2-2-9, K. Barthold 1-3-6-5, D. Barthold 1-0-0-2, Klimek 1-0-0-2, Peters 0-0-0-0, Dougherty 0-0-0-0, Lear 0-0-0-0, Stecklel 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 9-7-11-27.

PINE GROVE

Felty 5-5-11-15, Donmoyer 3-2-5-10, Stewart 2-0-0-5, Wolff 2-0-0-5, Koons 2-0-0-5, Schneck-Haines 0-2-2-2, Dorson 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 15-9-18-44.

Northern Lehigh 8 4 7 8 - 27

Pine Grove 8 9 12 15 - 44

Three-pointers: Northern Lehigh - Neiball 1, Whalen 1; Pine Grove - Donmoyer 2, Stewart 1, Wolff 1, Koons 1.