The Northampton girls' basketball team had their backs against the wall before the SportsFest "American Arch" Girls Basketball Tournament began exactly two weeks ago.

After graduating six senior players from last year's team, the Konkrete Kids had just two seniors dressed for play during SportsFest.

Additionally, the Konkrete Kids were paired up against Dunmore, last season's champion of the tournament, on Friday to kick off their tournament run. Following a 49-31 loss, the Konkrete Kids came up a few baskets short against Parkland's JV team, 42-37 on Saturday, to send the team home winless.

"They [Dunmore] are good," head coach Jeff Jacksits said. "They didn't lose anybody. They pass the ball really well. They took it to us.

"We had to bring some young girls up to give them some experience. It was good to be in the atmosphere, and it tested us to see how much we had to work on."

The Konkrete Kids' limited playing time together has placed an emphasis on the team generating quality court time in the summer.

Against the Trojans, that lack of cohesion may have surfaced late in the game. The Konkrete Kids erased a four-point deficit with six minutes to play to lead 36-35 with just over three minutes remaining. But three crucial Konkrete Kid turnovers down the stretch kept them without a field goal and handed the game back to Parkland.

"We came down and didn't execute a few things, and that's what our problem is right now," Jacksits said. "We're playing with two point guards, one that just moved in last year, so she doesn't even know the girls. The other one we brought up from the freshman team because a couple of girls are on vacation.

"We got them some experience, but we are trying to build a team playing together. That's why we're not there yet. We just have to work harder at that."

Ali Reppert was the only senior in attendance that saw significant time for the Konkrete Kids last season. Frany Sanchez and Giovanna Martinez are the other two upperclassmen that will be key in replacing the graduates, including Lehigh Valley Conference All-Star point guard Leandra Sterner.

In the summer months, it's a chance for Jacksits and his staff to begin that rebuild process and compete in the newly formed Eastern Pennsylvania Conference once the winter hits.

"We need to get better at some fundamental things that we're not doing right," Jacksits said. "We're not exactly playing as a team yet, and I think that is something that will come eventually over a little bit of time."

When the school year begins, Jacksits and the Konkrete Kids will work on the basics of the game as a top priority.

"Once school starts, we'll be back in the gym and working on conditioning and fundamentals," Jacksits said. "The hard thing with Northampton is that the girls play field hockey, volleyball or soccer. So we will have a mish mosh of people."