The Northwestern girls basketball team opens the 2022-23 season with a Colonial League crown on its head and a target on its back after winning league titles for two straight seasons.

Coming into the year with four of their starters returning, the Tigers look to make it three straight league titles. They also have a legitimate shot at their first district championship since the 2005-2006 season.

Bubbling up beneath the more experienced players is a group of young players who can serve as the next wave of players to keep the winning going.

“I like the direction that we are going,” said Northwestern head coach Chris Deutsch about his program. “We have good, experienced players returning, and have 11 ninth-graders on our varsity and JV teams combined.”

While the practices and their most recent scrimmage against Nazareth have been good, Deutsch is the typical coach who always sees things that his team can work on. That attention to little details is what makes the Northwestern program so good year after year.

Many of the varsity players are coming off successful fall seasons that saw several Northwestern Lehigh teams go deep into the postseason, delaying the arrival of some players. Now, with everyone in camp and getting ready for this weekend’s opener against Whitehall, the finishing touches are being put on the team.

“The conditioning is different for a lot of the fall sports than it is for basketball, and it’s a grind for the players because they had a full fall season to play,” said Deutsch. “The experience from playing other sports though is great for the players, and getting exposure in big games prepares them for when we get into those situations. I just wish we had a little more time between seasons.”

Paige Sevrain enters her senior season and is the last in a line of Sevrain sisters who have provided Deutsch and the team with quality players. Since her debut as a freshman, Sevrain has worked to become one of the tougher players in the area, and comes in just 108 points away from reaching the 1,000-point milestone.

“I have been stressing to Paige that it’s okay for her to be more selfish and attack more. She is a tough matchup for any team. A lot of players you have to get them to go the other way and give the ball up more, but she has never been selfish, and there are spots where she just needs to be the one to take the shot,” said Deutsch. “One thing I have seen from her this year is that she is more outspoken and has taken on more of a leadership role, which is good. She has the credentials to do that with the girls.”

While Cara Thomas is only a sophomore, she put herself in a position to chase down the 1,000-point milestone as well by scoring just under 300 points in her freshman season. Thomas also had a big season playing field hockey, leading the team with 22 goals. Seniors Brook Balliet (5.2 points per game), and Sydney Nyce (3.2 ppg) are both back, as are juniors Maci Fisher (4.4 ppg) and Ryleigh McGinley (3.7 ppg).

Northwestern opens the season Saturday with a non-conference home game against Whitehall, and then hosts Palmerton on Tuesday.

The Tigers and Blue Bombers have had some classic battles over the past few seasons, including the 2021 league final when Northwestern knocked off Palmerton for the championship and gave Deutsch his 300th coaching win. Northwestern also won last year’s championship by beating Palmerton in the league finals.