A tough loss to Nazareth early Saturday forced the Northampton girls basketball team into the loser's bracket of the recent Stellar "Catch A Rising Star" Basketball Showcase.

But the Konkrete Kids responded hours later against Bangor, and their defeat over the Slaters guaranteed them at least one more game on Sunday, one of the team's goals heading into the tourney. Giovanna Martinez had a team-high 12 points in the win.

"It's always our goal to get into the Sunday games if you can," said head coach Jeff Jacksits. "The goal is to stay out of the loser's bracket of course. But we didn't play very well this morning [Saturday] and Nazareth played a pretty good game. They made shots and we didn't.

"We told the girls that our effort really wasn't there this morning. In the Bangor game, we came out and played with a lot of effort today [Saturday]. So we had a very good defensive game.

While the Konkrete Kids came up short to Boyertown early Sunday morning, Jacksits was pleased with how his team faired after finishing the tournament with a 2-2 mark. That included a 46-35 victory over Saucon Valley on Thursday night to start the tournament.

"They always enjoy coming here-the atmosphere with all the teams together," said Jacksits. "You get to see some teams you don't see during the year."

Senior-to-be point guard Leandra Sterner, an LVC All-League selection from last season, figures to be the Konkrete Kids' leader on the court. And while the team lost two seniors from a season ago - Michele Dally and Ashley Brink - Sterner will look to lead a new group of starters under her path this upcoming winter.

"She sets the pace [and] she's all over the place," said Jacksits. "That's something we're learning to play with our girls-getting used to her speed and where they should be in relation to get the passes and things when she drives to the basket."

The Konkrete Kids will return six seniors this year, including Erica Filipovits and Kayla Csencsits, and both also will be leaders for the team moving forward.

"We'll have the team leadership hopefully," said Jacksits. "Hopefully we mesh together that we can play more than six or seven girls, and we can get nine or ten girls on the floor."

SportsFest's American Arch Girls Basketball Tournament will begin on Thursday evening at Cedar Beach, with the Konkrete Kids getting a bye in the first round. They'll play the winner of Palisades and Emmaus JV on Saturday morning at 9 a.m.