BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Northampton Women's Basketball team rode the hot hand of freshman center Nia Brown (Bethlehem, PA/Executive Charter) along with a lockdown defensive effort to take down visiting Bergen Community College, 72-28, in Region 19 action on Thursday evening at the Arthur L. Scott Center.

Northampton put forth a dominating defensive front right from the start to hold the visiting Bulldogs to just 13 points in the first half.  The Spartans led 20-9 after the first quarter and took a commanding 36-13 lead into the locker room at the half.

The Northampton defensive wall was able to hold Bergen Community College to just four points in the second quarter and topped their effort by holding the visitors to just three points in the third quarter to put things out of reach. The Spartans led 53-16 going into the final frame and cruised to the finish line, holding the Bulldogs to 19.7% shooting (12-61) from the floor and forcing 24 turnovers.

"Truly pleased with how we came out tonight and set the tone right from start," stated Spartans Head Coach Carly Gallagher, "We had a strong offensive showing and that combined with our defense tonight was the story. We put together a solid effort from start to finish. This was a good win and now we just have to get ready for the next one. It is that time of the year."

Nia Brown (Bethlehem, PA/Executive Charter) led all scorers with a 30 point outing while also grabbing 21 rebounds and registering 4 blocked shots. Sophomore guard Layla Sweatte (Allentown, PA/William Allen) scored 22 points with 9 rebounds while Neoshe Perez (Bath, PA/Executive Charter) scored 8 points and recorded 8 boards. Joey-Madison Shaul (Whitehall, PA/Whitehall) scored 6 points with 7 assists and 8 rebounds.

Northampton improves to 15-6 overall and 10-4 in Region 19.

Bergen Community College falls 4-15 overall and 2-13 in the Region.

The Spartans are back in action on Saturday, February 7th when they travel to Atlantic City High School in Atlantic City to take on Atlantic Cape Community College in a Region 19 showdown at 12pm.