Bangor played three solid quarters of basketball against Northwestern Tuesday night in the Colonial League girls' basketball semifinal at Catasauqua High School.

That other quarter? Well, the Lady Slaters turned the ball over 11 times and didn't register a point.

Fourth-seeded Bangor's sluggish third quarter dug a hole it could never escape from as top-seeded Northwestern cruised to a 53-36 victory and advance to the league finals for the second straight year.

"The third quarter was one of the best quarters of basketball we have played all year long," Tiger head coach Chris Deutsch said. "We shut them out the entire quarter. We came out and did our job in the third quarter and that was the difference maker by far."

The final point differential was 17, but if you eliminate the Lady Tigers' third-quarter production, that shaved Northwestern's lead to only four.

Northwestern (22-1) held a four-point lead after the first eight minutes as it got out to a rare quick start, bolstered by five points from Sarah Segan in that frame. The junior led all scorers with 15 total points.

"The whole regular season we came out kind of weak and were able to come through," said Segan. "Tonight everyone was great and we were able to get that cushion. It was definitely reassuring to know that we had that little room."

In the second quarter Sabrina Mertz (14 points, two rebounds) chipped in eight points, six of which came from behind the arc. Mertz's two converted foul shots with 3:05 left in the half extended Northwestern's lead to 14, the largest in the first half for any team.

Bangor (13-10) immediately cut into that lead as the Lady Slaters went on a 7-0 scoring run to close out the first half, which cut their deficit to five, 24-19. Their run was kick started by a bucket courtesy of Chandler Zungolo, who paced Bangor with 10 points.

With the momentum seeming to shift to its side, Bangor started the second half with three straight turnovers. Northwestern stepped up defensively and forced erratic passes from the Lady Slaters.

Offensively, the Lady Tigers posted 13 points in the third frame grabbing the momentum back and sucking the energy right out of the Bangor crowd.

"I think the halftime came at the right time," Deutsch said. "We were able to bounce right back. We had that 10 minutes and were able to make adjustments at halftime and get the job done in the third quarter. That was the difference in the game."

Northwestern took a 37-19 lead in to the fourth. A three-point play by senior Trista Cunningham (nine points, five rebounds) made it 47-26 with 3:23 left. Solid play from reserves Kylee Bennett and Lauren Anderson allowed the Lady Tigers to drain the clock and take the victory.

Northwestern moves on to Friday night's title game to face No. 2 Southern Lehigh, the South Division champ which owns the last three league titles. The game is slated for 6 p.m. at Freedom High School.

"It gives us motivation," Segan said of facing the Spartans for a second straight year with the league title on the line. "We don't want to come in there with the wrong mindset. As a team we respect them, but we are hoping to get our revenge."