Game plans are rarely executed to perfection at any time of the season — let alone the first week.

But on Friday night, visiting Palmerton came as close as any team could in handing Northern Lehigh a 45-31 Colonial League defeat.

The Blue Bombers displayed outstanding defense, strong rebounding and just enough offense to pull away from their arch rivals.

“I told the girls right from the start that what the game’s going to come down to was the defensive effort and paying attention to the details and the scouting report,” said Palmerton head coach Jeremy Coleman. “They took the scouting report and executed it to a tee.

“Cate Morgan did an absolutely fabulous job (on Tegan Simms). I couldn’t have asked more from her. I gave her a big hug after the game because that was the best defense I’ve ever seen her play. And she really stepped up big time. And she wasn’t the only one. Hailey Barry did a great job, Ella Baumgardt did fabulous against Katelynn Barthold ... So the girls, they completely executed the game plan and I couldn’t have asked more from them.”

While Palmerton was strong defensively in the first half, the Bombers cranked it up a notch in the second.

After Simms hit a driving shot to start the third quarter and pull Nolehi within a point at 24-23, Coleman’s club completely clamped down and frustrated the Bulldogs on offense.

The host team managed just eight more points the rest of the way and had a stretch where they missed 14 shots in a row.

“I believe we shot 4-for-26 in the second half and you’re not going to win a game like that,” said Bulldog mentor Chris Heery. “We did turn them over ... so our defense did actually do a pretty decent job. It wasn’t our defense that hurt us, it was our offense.

“We didn’t get as many second shots as they did, and that was a big difference in the game. And then our shooting percentage was a good bit lower than it usually is, partially because we were forcing some things ... It’s a long season and it seems like we literally just started practicing. I’m not worried.”

After the Simms bucket that made it a one-point contest, Palmerton went on a 12-2 run that pushed the lead to double digits. Courtney Connell started the spurt with an inside basket, and Barry and Mikayla Pengelly followed with three-pointers.

Connell added two more field goals in the period and finished with a game-high 12 points. But her biggest contributions came off the glass, where she pulled down 16 rebounds. The 5-10 junior also altered plenty of shots on defense and found teammates cutting to the basket on offense.

“Courtney’s an awesome player,” said Coleman. “She had a bunch of rebounds and she battles ... All the girls are playing unselfish basketball, moving the ball and helping teammates get open looks.

“We had a little bit of a run and had some momentum early in the game and then Courtney got her second foul and things kind of went downhill from there in the first half. We took a risk and put her back in. We weren’t able to get that momentum back in the first half, but they came back firing in the second half.”

Northern Lehigh actually came out as the hot team to start, jumping out to a 9-4 advantage. But Baumgardt hit a pair of shots during a 12-0 burst to give Palmerton a lead it would never lose.

The Bulldogs trimmed a nine-point deficit to three right before the half, but the second half would belong to the Bombers.

“Watching the Northwestern tape, I was really impressed with Northern Lehigh, especially since they lost (Aubrey) Pollard,” said Coleman. “She was their main go-to person. But those main three that they have — Simms and the Bartholds — are tough. And watching that tape, they have a lot of offensive firepower, so I was really satisfied with the defensive effort that we put in, holding them to just 31 points.”

TOUGH SCHEDULE ... Northern Lehigh not only started the season playing perennial powers Northwestern and Palmerton, but its next game on Monday is against another stalwart in Notre Dame.

MORE STATS ... Simms paced the Bulldogs with 10 points, while Katelynn Barthold had eight. It was clear, though, that the Bombers defense frustrated the NL shooters most of the evening. For Palmerton, Barry collected 10 points and seven boards, while Morgan added nine points.

PALMERTON

Pengelly 1-0-0-3, Baumgardt 3-1-5-7, Rumfield 0-0-0-0, Schneider 0-0-0-0, Morgan 4-0-0-9, Barry 4-0-0-10, Connell 5-2-2-12, Green 2-0-0-4. TOTALS: 19-3-7-45.

NORTHERN LEHIGH

Williams 3-1-1-7, Gad 0-0-0-0, K. Barthold 4-0-0-8, Ramos 0-2-2-2, Wentz 0-0-0-0, D. Barthold 2-0-0-4, Simms 4-0-0-10, Snyder 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 13-3-3-31.

Palmerton 16 8 16 5 - 45

Northern Lehigh 11 10 7 3 - 31

Three-pointers: Palmerton - Barry 2, Pengelly 1, Morgan 1; Northern Lehigh - Simms 2.

Records: Palmerton (2-0; 1-0); Northern Lehigh (0-2; 0-2).