CENTER VALLEY — The three-point shot is a weapon many teams utilize.

Notre Dame, however, usually isn’t one of those teams.

On Monday, though, the Crusaders uncharacteristically took — and made — a number of attempts beyond the arc to help gain a 42-25 victory over Palmerton in a Colonial League girls semifinal contest at Southern Lehigh.

“That’s not necessarily our game plan, to come out and fire a bunch of threes, but the girls were playing with a lot of confidence and we tell them, ‘If the ball moves from side to side, and can work inside-out, and your three-point shots are open, step in and shoot them with confidence,’” said Notre Dame head coach Josh Kopp. “And sure enough, Ava Shonk, she came out and set the tone early with that initial three. And we just kept it going from that point on.”

Notre Dame finished with eight treys in the contest — with at least one in every quarter — as the deep ball accounted for 24 of its 42 points.

Shonk finished with three, including two in the first period, as the No. 2 seed in the CL playoffs jumped out to a 15-8 start.

“Ava’s been struggling to make some shots as of late,” said Kopp. “She told me before the game, ‘Coach, I just realized I haven’t made a three since the Bangor game’, which was (Jan. 25). My message to her was, ‘Ava, just play basketball. You’re a good shooter. That means you’re due.’ And to her credit, she overcame that mental hurdle.”

Shonk connected from deep just 30 seconds into the contest, but the Bombers’ Mikayla Pengelly countered with a triple. The Crusaders’ next score was another three from Brenna Hammerstone, while Shonk hit from the perimeter again later in the frame.

“No (we weren’t expecting that), because on tape those are shots they haven’t hit all year,” said Palmerton mentor Jeremy Coleman. “So, our strategy coming into the game was to play kind of like what Wilson did and what Catty did, and they were pretty successful. It was to play some 3-2 (zone defense).

“It was just their night tonight, and they knocked down their shots, and we just have to live with it. When a team hits that many, it’s tough to overcome.”

It’s also tough overcoming turnovers, something Notre Dame’s defense forced on five of Palmerton’s first six possessions of the second quarter.

The Crusaders took advantage of that, getting a pair of inside buckets from Emily Lessig and another long-distance hit from Hammerstone to extend the lead to 23-11.

“We take a lot of pride in believing that our defense is one of the best in our league,” said Kopp. “Tonight, I thought we even had another level of intensity of pressure out on the perimeter. I felt we really gave their guards a lot of fits, and got them uncomfortable getting into their offensive sets.

“That’s a total mindset from a team, not just individually, but from a team all buying in to the idea of we all have to be connected and focused from a defensive end.”

The Bombers came out in the second half focused on cutting the deficit, which they did. Baskets by Pengelly, Ella Baumgardt and Cate Morgan brought the No. 3 seed within 27-20, but Hammerstone and Ava Hobbie drilled back-to-back threes to end the period and push the margin up to 13.

Palmerton could get no closer as Notre Dame punched its ticket to the league championship game.

“It just didn’t work out for us, especially the way we struggled offensively,” said Coleman. “Whenever we kind of made some ground or started to get some momentum, they always answered. It’s tough for the girls’ psyche, and the momentum just kind of seemed to always be going their way. It’s tough to fight through that.

“We just have to live with the result for right now. It’s a tough pill to swallow. But at least we have districts to look forward to. And now we’ll just try to attack that, and make the most of that.”

HITTING FROM DEEP ... Notre Dame made four of its first eight three-point attempts, and finished the game 8-of-20 for 40 percent. Palmerton, meanwhile, was 2-of-9 from deep.

LEADERS ... Pengelly topped the Bombers with 10 points, while Courtney Connell had six points and five rebounds. Shonk led Notre Dame with 10 points. Hammerstone and Lessig both finished with nine.

SCORE TO SETTLE ... The Crusaders meet top-seeded Northwestern in the title game Friday at Freedom. Notre Dame lost to the Tigers 55-35 in their only matchup this season.

PALMERTON

Pengelly 4-0-0-10, Baumgardt 1-1-2-3, Rumfield 0-0-0-0, Schneider 0-0-0-0, Morgan 2-0-0-4, Wasilewski 0-0-0-0, Green 0-0-2-0, Barry 1-0-0-2, Getch 0-0-0-0, Connell 1-4-6-6. TOTALS: 9-5-10-25.

NOTRE DAME

Shonk 3-1-2-10, Hammerstone 3-0-0-9, Karwacki 0-0-0-0, Boyle 1-0-0-3, Zambo 2-0-0-4, A. Hobbie 2-1-2-6, Lessig 4-1-4-9, Dahl 0-0-0-0, S. Ryan 0-0-0-0, A. Ryan 0-1-4-1, J. Hobbie 0-0-0-0, Beani 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-4-12-42.

Palmerton 8 6 6 5 - 25

Notre Dame 15 8 10 9 - 42

Three-pointers: Palmerton - Pengelly 2; Notre Dame - Shonk 3, Hammerstone 3, Boyle 1, A. Hobbie 1.

Records: Palmerton (19-5); Notre Dame (18-5).