JACKSON TWP — Getting off to a fast start is a goal in every game the Seneca Valley girls basketball team plays.

It was a test they passed with flying colors Friday night.

The Raiders sank their first nine field goal attempts and used a 20-5 first-quarter run to spark a 58-33 Section 3-AAAA home victory over North Hills.

Junior guard Lexus Lambert tallied nine of her game-high 15 points in the opening period, including the first of her three conventional 3-point plays on the night.

“Lexus gets up and down the floor as well as any player I've had here and gets a lot of scoring opportunities because of that,” said Seneca coach Rob Lombardo. “Before this season, she was always trying to initiate contact as she moved toward the basket. I told her, “Just go to the hoop,” because she is strong enough to make the basket despite the contact.”

The Raiders (4-1, 2-0) struggled to regain the momentum they built in the opening quarter. Their first points of the second period did not come until Lambert's second 3-point play with 2:40 left in the half. They still managed to take a 29-11 edge into intermission.

“We were very sloppy, we did not execute well in the second quarter,” Lombardo said. “We want to do what we do best early on in games. We did that tonight, but ended up losing our focus.”

North Hills never was able to shrink its deficit to single digits following Seneca's first-quarter dominance.

“We told the girls, you can't fall behind big, especially against a team like (Seneca Valley),” said Indians' coach Lauren Wilmus. “At one point, it was 20-5.”

Aside from the win itself, two positives Lombardo can take from the game is that until three straight misses from reserves late in the fourth period, the Raiders were six-of-13 from 3-point range.

Cristina Dunning was three-of-five from behind the arc.

“We were in the 60s (percentage) the first couple of games this season,” said Lombardo. “But this is now four straight games that we were at least 70 percent and that is our goal for the year.”

NORTH HILLS 33

Jamie Halloran 1 0-2 2, Melanie Lindsey 5 2-4 12, Anna Treser 2 0-0 6, Kristen Collins 2 2-2 8, Tori Manfred 1 0-0 3, Sierra Ungerman 0 2-2 2, Megan Taschner 0 0-0 0, Kayleigh Sabolovic 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 6-10 33.

SENECA VALLEY 58

Shaley Bream 1 4-4 6, Christina Dunning 3 0-0 9, Brooke Lyczek 1 0-0 3, Meghan Hess 2 0-0 6, Sarah Jones 1 0-0 2, Lexus Lambert 6 3-3 15, Melissa Carter 4 1-2 9, Erin Danik 2 4-4 8, Michaela Lamont 0 0-0 0, Carolyn Palaski 0 0-0 0, Maggie Maloney 0 0-0 0, Toni Augustine 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 12-13 58.

North Hills 5 6 13 9 — 33

Seneca Valley20 9 15 14 — 58

3-point goals: North Hills 5 (Treser 2, Collins 2, Manfred); Seneca Valley 6 (Dunning 3, Hess 2, Lyczek).

Tuesday: Seneca Valley at Shaler