The high school basketball season opens on Friday, and the schedule gives Northwestern girls basketball head coach Chris Deutsch and his team a quick start to the season.

While some teams start the season with a day or more wait to play their first game, Northwestern is in action at the Hamburg Tip-Off Tournament this Friday and Saturday.

The 2025-26 version of the team has a couple openings, but Deutsch believes that they have been adequately filled and the team is ready to roll.

His team graduated four-year starters Brooke Balliet and Cara Thomas, along with Paige Bissell.

Coming into this season, there are losses from last year’s roster, but expectations for the team remain high.

Thomas is the all-time leading scorer in Northwestern basketball with 1,537 points. She was the Colonial League MVP last season, averaging 18.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.3 steals, and 3.4 assists per game. Balliet averaged 6.5 points per game (PPG) in her senior season. Bissell contributed 4.2 PPG.

Hannah Gober will transition into a guard spot for Northwestern in her senior season.

All three graduates were also strong defensive players for the Lady Tigers.

A year ago, Northwestern returned five starters and went 24-5, just one win shy of the school record. The Tigers took home silver medals in the Colonial League and defeated North Schuylkill 51-34 in the consolation round of districts to qualify for states. They ran into Neumann-Goretti, a team that Deutsch said was the best team he had coached against in his long coaching career, in the opening round of states to end their season.

Natalie Conner opened eyes in her freshman season with 455 points.

Without Thomas, teams may be able to devote more coverage to Conner, but she is talented enough to adjust and still be a dominating player in the Colonial League. Olivia Reinhart became a presence down low for the Tigers and is back for her senior season.

“For me, upping my three-point percentage and trying to get better is a key,” said Conner of her goals for her sophomore season. “I know that 1,000 points is within reach, but that’s a goal for me, and I never am going to be the type of player who is going to look at a teammate who is open and not try to get the ball to them. It’s not just about my scoring. It’s also about passing, being a good ball handler, and spreading the ball around.”

Senior Emma Freeman, an all-state softball pitcher, looks to bring an element of the softball team’s success to the hardwood.

“I think that a strong chemistry off the court leads to success on the court,” she said. “That’s true with the softball team and I think it’s true here, too. I want to try to bring that along to help the team now and down the road.”

Deutsch is back for his 23rd season as the team’s coach and is looking forward to the new season. He believes his team has intangibles that will make them stronger this season than they have been in the past.

“I love seeing our girls have success in other sports because I know that they have been tested in big games and they can handle themselves in those spots,” said Deutsch. “The other thing is that I have probably had the most fun coaching that I have had with any team in the last 10 years with these girls. They are coachable. They work hard. They get along, and they’re dedicated to playing the game and to helping each other succeed.

“I look forward every day to going to practice. With young girls like these, it never gets old.”

The Lady Tigers open the Colonial League portion of their schedule Tuesday at Northern Lehigh. The Bulldogs were a much improved team last season and reached the quarterfinals of both the Colonial League and District 11 tournaments.