Lehighton came into this season with an identity that was focused on playing aggressive man-to-man defense.

Midway through the season, the Indians defensive personality is paying off.

The Tribe have given up an average of just 25 points over their past two games, and they turned in a dominant defensive performance against Northern Lehigh on Wednesday, defeating the Bulldogs 50-29 in a nonleague contest.

The defensive effort from Lehighton (6-6) started in the first quarter. The Indians surrendered only six points, and kept Northern Lehigh out of the paint and off the boards.

It was a common theme throughout the night, as the Bulldogs couldn’t get many shot opportunities inside 15-feet.

“I think we’re hitting our stride right now defensively. We came into the season with a defensive mentality, and in our last three games, we’ve really played well defensively,” said Lehighton head coach Joe Berezwick. “The energy and momentum we’re creating with our defensive effort is transferring over to other parts of the game for us right now, and you can see we’re feeding off of that.”

The Indians not only fed off their defense in the second quarter, they feasted. The Tribe forced seven Northern Lehigh turnovers, and outscored the Bulldogs 25-6 in the frame to lead 37-12 at the break.

A 13-0 run to start the second period extended the Indians’ lead to 25-6 around the five-minute mark. Hailey Miller scored seven consecutive points during that span to spark the run, and 12 of her 16 first-half points came in the second stanza.

“Hailey took over for us there in the second quarter. She’s hitting her stride now as well, which is definitely big for us,” said Berezwick. “Overall, it looks like we’re just getting better, which is where you want to be at this point in the season for sure.”

Miller opened the third with back-to-back buckets for Lehighton, as it continued playing tough defense, forcing seven more Northern Lehigh miscues in the frame. At the end of three, the game would be in the mercy rule, with the Indians leading 47-16.

LEADING SCORERS

... Miller led the way with 20 points for Lehighton. Taylor Bowman added 10 for the Indians. Emma Niebill scored a game-high 22 points for the Bulldogs ...

GETTING CLOSER

... Miller is nearing the 1,000-point mark with seven games left to play. She needs around 60 points the rest of the way.

LEHIGHTON

Repsher 3-0-0-6, Barthol 0-0-0-0, McHugh 0-0-0-0, Haley 0-0-0-0, Williams 0-0-0-0, Wehr 0-1-2-1, Miller 9-1-2-20, Bowman 4-1-2-10, Woiton 2-0-0-5, Fisher 3-1-1-8, Hauser 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 21-4-7-50.

NORTHERN LEHIGH

Seckel 0-0-0-0, Whalen 0-0-0-0, D. Barthold 1-0-0-2, Lear 0-0-0-0, K. Barthold 1-0-0-3, Dougherty 0-0-0-0, Peters 1-0-0-2, Niebell 7-3-5-22, Klimek 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 10-3-5-29.

Lehighton 12 25 10 3 - 50

No. Lehigh 6 6 4 13 - 29

Three-pointers: L - Miller 1 Bowman 1, Wojton 1, Fisher 1, K. Barthold 1; NL - Niebell 5.