In nature, the mama bears are the ones you must watch out for.

In lacrosse, the Lady Bears are ferocious, too.

Pleasant Valley’s winning streak reached 10 games - and one of its key players hit an impressive milestone - Tuesday night with a 16-5 win at Northwestern Lehigh.

The Bears (10-0) came out aggressive, with freshman Rylee Rath netting her first goal with just 1:10 having clicked off the clock. With just over five minutes gone, Olivia Iandoli scored her first. And 21 seconds later, Rath picked up another.

Devon Bush then followed with three straight goals. This all came within the first 6:08 of the game, giving Pleasant Valley a 6-0 lead that the Tigers could not come back from.

Bush, a sophomore, had five goals in the first half - with the second one putting her at the 100-goal mark for her high school career.

Some players hope to do that in four years, or even three, but she has done it halfway into her sophomore season.

“I have to thank my teammates because they set up my drives, they set up my free lanes to get to the goal, and they helped me with the plays to help me get to that goal, so it’s really just teamwork that got me here so fast,” said Bush.

“I never expected to get there so fast because last year we had two very good scorers, so I didn’t think I would get the opportunities that I got last year because they were so good. Then this year, we have Rylee Rath, who is a freshman, and she is a big scorer, too, so for me to get here so early is nice.”

Rath and Iandoli, a sophomore, both scored another goal in the first half while junior Riley Green added another.

For the Tigers, sophomore Cara Thomas scored with 14:39 left, and another goal scored when goalie Abygail Borger had made a save, but the ball popped out of the netting on her stick and crossed the plane of the goal. When the first half ended, the Bears were up 11-2.

Pleasant Valley picked up two more tallies from Rath to give her five on the day, with Iandoli adding her third, and senior Madison Fava also adding a goal.

Northwestern sisters Claire and Olivia Costa put the Tigers on the board, again receiving two goals from Clair, and a third from Olivia, to set the final score.

“We look at every game like it’s going to be a tough one and so far, that has worked well for us,” said PV head coach Toni Bush. “We have a lot of young talent on the team, and they have all done a good job for us this season and contribute to our success.”

Northwestern’s program is on an upswing in its fourth season of existence, but slow starts have hampered it at times.

“That’s something that we have tried to emphasize, that we have to start from the very first whistle,” said Tigers coach Bridget Cerciello. “Sometimes it takes us a while to get into a game, and that has been an issue for us.”

LOST IN THE SHUFFLE ... The effort put out by Pleasant Valley’s defense may not have been the top story, but it is well worth mentioning. The Bears have allowed 62 goals in 10 games this season, while scoring an average of 16 goals per game. Borger has great protection in front of her, and can take care of any players who happen to come within range of getting off a shot. PV has a calm schedule the rest of the way, with just two teams with winning records remaining during the regular season. The Bears host Moravian Academy (5-2) Thursday, and then play at Emmaus (9-2) in early May on their quest for an undefeated season.

IN CONTRAST ... Northwestern has a difficult road to the end of the season. Of its nine remaining games, five are against teams with winning records. The Tigers play Southern Lehigh (5-3) and Moravian Academy (5-2) twice each, and play Emmaus (9-2) as they look for their first trip to districts in the brief history of the program.