The favorites took care of business on Wednesday in the annual Lady Indians Christmas Tournament.

Host Lehighton recovered from a slow start and cruised to a 41-28 victory over Pleasant Valley in the nightcap of the semifinal doubleheader.

In the opener, Palmerton remained unbeaten on the season with a 45-30 victory over Colonial League rival Northern Lehigh.

The Indians and Bombers will meet tonight at 7:30 p.m. for the tournament championship. Pleasant Valley and Northern Lehigh will meet in the 6 p.m. consolation game.

Lehighton-Pleasant Vy.

This one wasn’t exactly text book basketball. But in the end, Lehighton had far too much balance and made fewer mistakes to take down the Bears.

“We’re trying to get better offensively,” veteran Lehighton coach Joe Berezwick said. “We are a work in progress, but we play with intensity, and I love the hustle our kids give us each and every game.”

The Tribe eased out to a 6-5 lead after one quarter on a pair of field goals from their senior leader Taylor Bowman, and a Charli McHugh deuce. The Bears stayed close thanks to a Katelyn Honadel triple and a bucket by Brooke Greene.

Lehighton began to pull away in the second quarter as it built an 18-8 halftime lead thanks primarily to Pleasant Valley’s sloppiness with the ball as the Bears committed 12 first-half turnovers.

“We had a nice run in the second quarter that helped open things up a little,” Berezwick said, obviously thrilled to see his team shoot in front at the halfway point. He was also happy that the win got his team back on track - snapping a three-game losing streak.

Fast-rising freshman Oliva Serfass is starting to make an impression, and she showed the way with her game-high 14 points, with Bowman adding 11.

“She really stepped it up for us,” Berezwick said about Serfass. “She hit some big threes.”

Serfass had four triples in the game, including three in the second quarter.

After a low-scoring third quarter, the Indians started the fourth quarter strong as Jordan Haley nailed a deuce and Serfass drilled her fourth triple of the game to increase the lead to 28-12.

Pleasant Valley answered behind Ella Muir, who finished with a team-leading 12 points, as it cut the deficit to 28-18. However, Lehighton regained its footing when McHugh picked up a loose ball and cruised in for a layup, before Bowman went back-door for another layup thanks to Haley’s picture-perfect assist.

“Pleasant Valley didn’t give up, but fortunately we had an answer at the end,” Berezwick said. “We’re in the championship game of our tournament, which is important for us.”

LEHIGHTON

Serfass 5-0-0-14, Barthol 0-0-0-0, McHugh 2-0-2-4, Haley 1-0-0-2, Trotman 2-1-1-5, Bowman 5-0-2-11, Wojton 1-3-4-5, Hauser 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 16-4-9-41.

PLEASANT VALLEY

Lanigan 0-0-0-0, Greene 3-0-0-7, Gaddist 0-0-0-0, Rosenburg 1-1-2-3, Muir 3-5-6-12, Honadel 2-0-2-6, Soury 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 9-6-10-28.

Lehighton 6 12 5 18 - 41

Pleasant Vy. 5 3 2 10 - 28

Three-pointers: Lehighton – Serfass 4, Bowman 1. Pleasant Valley – Honadel 2, Greene 1, Muir 1

Palmerton-No. Lehigh

Palmerton had too much gas in the tank and experience on the floor for Northern Lehigh.

Paced by Bethie Morgan, who drained 19 points, and her sidekick Hannah Berry, who tossed in 12, the Blue Bombers were too strong for a game Bulldogs squad, that tried to stay close behind Dakota Barthold, Aubrey Pollard and Katelynn Barthold - all of whom scored eight points in the loss.

The eventual winners broke free from a 12-9 first quarter lead to soar in front 25-14 at the half as the Blue Bombers spread the floor, and shared the wealth.

“There were two or three times when they went on six-point runs, and that hurt us,” said Northern Lehigh coach Chris Heery. “The game was even and they put together those runs and the next thing we’re down 10-11 points.”

Morgan dropped in a pair of treys in the first half scoring 11 points, Berry had a solid performance in the middle periods with nine points, as Palmerton increased the margin to 38-22 after three quarters.

“The kids are doing a great job out there. They really work hard,” said Palmerton coach Dan Beck.

Beck was pleased the way his team was in the flow of the game.

“I complimented them on the way they executed,” he said. “They didn’t force many shots. We were patient, and that’s what we have to do.”

That patience and execution was evident in the stats as Palmerton committed just five turnovers in the game.

Now it’s on to tonight’s title game with Lehighton.

PALMERTON

Bollinger 0-0-0-0, Baumgardt 2-2-2-7, Peterson 0-0-0-0, Barry 5-0-0-11, Matsko 3-0-0-6, Pengelly 1-0-0-2, Balliet 0-0-0-0, Andrews 0-0-0-0, Morgan 8-1-2-19, Connell 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 19-3-4-45.

NORTHERN LEHIGH

Whalen 1-0-1-2, K. Barthold 2-3-4-8, Pollard 3-2-6-8, Bosch 1-0-0-2, D. Barthold 3-0-0-8, Peters 1-0-0-2, Snyder 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 11-5-10-30.

Palmerton 12 13 13 7 - 45

Northern Lehigh 9 5 8 8 - 30

Three-pointers : Palmerton - Morgan 2, Baumgart 1, Barry 1; Northern Lehigh - D. Barthold 2, K. Barthold 1.