ARLINGTON — The Hawks used a 13-2 run in the third quarter to pull away from Highland Christian and earn their first Northwest 1B Conference win of the season.

But the 42-28 win didn’t come easily for the Tulalip Heritage girls basketball team, as it had to deal with a physical Knights team also opening conference play Dec. 14 at the Arlington Boys & Girls Club.

“We like it when it we can be physical,” said Tulalip coach Tina Brown. “And I was really proud of the way our girls didn’t back down.”

That was the case especially on defense, as the Hawks were able to limit the Knights to single digits in every quarter.

“Defense was the key for us tonight,” Brown said. “We were talking and being in the right position all night.”

Heritage opened the game with a 12-9 lead by the end of the first quarter, but didn’t have much breathing room until ending the second quarter with nine unanswered points to earn a 25-15 halftime advantage. Instrumental in that run was Misty Fryberg, who scored five of her game-high 12 points in that period, making five of six free throw attempts.

Tulalip then pulled away for good with that 13-2 stretch to make the score 38-21.

The Lady Hawks had a pair score in the double digits, as Francine Pierre added 10.

While Brown was happy with her team’s all-around play, she pointed out the effort of Brittany Jones, who has been swinging from junior varsity to varsity so far this season.

“Brittany had a great first half,” said Brown. “She didn’t score the most points, but she made some big baskets for us and that was impressive.”

Jones ended with six points.

The win brings Tulalip’s record to 2-1 overall with a 1-0 record in the conference.