On Saturday, Northwestern Lehigh ran into a really good team in the opening round of the Class 4A state playoffs when it faced Neumann Goretti and left Benjamin Franklin High School with a 76-27 loss that ended its season.

To gauge just how good the Saints are, consider that they are the second best team that Tiger head coach Chris Deutsch has ever coached against in his 22 seasons.

Even with the lopsided loss, Deutsch found a lot of positives — not just about this game — but about the season that his players just completed.

“We played Bethlehem Catholic back when they had Kalista Walters, and that was the best team I have ever seen,” said Deutsch. “This team (Neumann Goretti) is the second best. They are athletic, they’re fast, and they can shoot.

“I don’t know if they’ll win the state championship, but they are really good. I think they would beat just about any team from any classification in the Lehigh Valley.”

After all, the team does have both Philadelphia Catholic League (PCL) MVP Caroline Easley and sophomore guard Reginna Baker, who is being recruited by Temple University. The Saints were also the champs of the PCL, one of the most respected leagues in the state.

Neumann had runs of 24-0, 8-0, and 7-0 on its way to scoring the most points that Northwestern has allowed in a long time.

The 24-0 run started late in the first quarter, and lasted until the 3:00 mark of the second quarter and put the Tigers down 43-9. After a Brook Balliet three-pointer, Neumann Goretti turned it into a 32-3 run to enter halftime with a 51-12 lead.

If any further proof was needed that the Northwestern seniors weren’t ready to finish their high school careers, consider that senior Cara Thomas opened the third quarter with a three-pointer and Balliet quickly followed with another to make it 51-18.

That may not sound like much, but Deutsch was impressed.

“We could have just quit, but the girls wanted to go back out there and see what they could do. I thought it was big that we kept working,” noted Deutsch.

Before the quarter was over, Balliet hit another trey, along with a couple of foul shots.

Balliet, who loves to play big games no matter what sport, finished with 11 points — including three three-pointers.

“Brook really stepped up late in the year and played really well. She’s definitely a leader in that way, and we are going to miss her,” said Deutsch. “She won’t be easy to replace.”

Neumann Goretti didn’t only find ways to break the Northwestern defense, but it also put on an impressive defensive display of its own.

The Saints held Thomas, Northwestern’s all-time leading scorer, to just five points. Freshman sensation Natalie Conner was also held to only five points.

If Temple coaches were watching, they saw Baker score 26 points for Neumann.

Easley and junior Zion Coston both knocked down three from beyond the arc on their way to 11 points each.

“I told the girls after the game that getting to states was a good goal for us to have set at the start of the season, and they accomplished that goal,” said Deutsch. “They also won 24 games this year, which is just one short of our team high, so they had a great season and have nothing to be disappointed about.”

SAYING GOOD-BYE … Deutsch will lose seniors Balliet, Thomas, and Paige Bissell. While Balliet and Thomas were four-year starters, Deutsch didn’t discount the contribution that Bissell made to the team. “She was the player of the year in soccer, and didn’t play basketball last year, but she wanted to come back for her senior season,” said Deutsch. “Not many players can go from being the best in one sport and not starting in another. She came in and accepted her role, and was an important part of the team for us this year.”

ONE MORE TIME … Balliet and Thomas were both voted in by media members to play in the Senior Lehigh Valley All-Star Classic that will be contested March 30 at Northampton Community College.

NORTHWESTERN

Balliet 3-2-2-11, Bissell 1-0-0-2, Freeman 0-0-0-0, Thomas 2-0-2-5, Kistler 0-0-0-0, Gober 0-0-0-0, N. Conner 2-0-0-5, M. Conner 0-0-0-0, Zentz 0-0-0-0, Rinehart 1-2-2-4. TOTALS: 9-4-6-27.

NEUMANN GORETTI

Scott 5-1-1-12, Easley 4-0-0-11, Coston 4-0-0-11, Solis-Morgan 1-0-0-3, Thompson 0-0-0-0, Baker 12-1-2-26, Berry 3-1-2-9, King 2-0-1-4. TOTALS: 31-3-6-76.

Northwestern 9 3 11 4 - 27

Neumann Goretti 23 28 15 10 - 76

Three-pointers: Northwestern - Balliet 3, Thomas 1, Conner 1; Neumann Goretti - Easley 3, Coston 3, Berry 2, Scott 1, Solis-Morgan 1, Baker 1.

Records: Northwestern (24-5); Neumann Goretti (22-4).