Sabrina Mertz and Sarah Segan have been a part of a number of highly competitive games on the hardwood. They've both experienced the grit and grind of three straight Colonial League title games and a number of district playoff battles.

But over the weekend, the two got to take somewhat of a back seat and enjoy the moment in their final high school basketball game.

Along with Cam Richardson as the lone Northwestern boys all-star, Mertz and Segan were also named all-stars for Saturday's Via All-Star Basketball Classic at Northampton Community College's Spartan Center Gymnasium.

As a part of the third game on "Super Saturday," Mertz scored four points and Segan added three for the West girls all-stars in their 83-70 defeat to the East team.

"It's really sad to know that it's over," Mertz said. "A lot of these girls that I played with today are playing in college. That's really awesome for them that they're going to get to continue their basketball careers. Since I'm doing soccer, it's really sad knowing this will probably be the last time I'm playing a real basketball game. To play with these girls was a great experience."

The West all-stars led 32-28 at halftime behind eight points from Northampton's Giovanna Martinez and seven from Central Catholic's Alyssa Mack.

But the East all-stars took the lead back early in the second half at 46-44 and never trailed. Easton's Domanique Moser and Phillipsburg's Jessica Kovath scored 27 of the East's 55 points in the second half that push their lead to double digits in the final moments.

Wins and losses, however, wasn't the focal point of the friendly matchup over the weekend. Not only did Mertz and Segan get to suit up with some of the top talent in the Colonial League, they also had the opportunity to play with some of the best players in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

"We don't get to play against EPC teams a lot, so playing with and against them was really nice," Mertz said, "especially when they're on our team. They bring different things as well."

There was more than just a quadruple-header of basketball games to commemorate the Via of the Lehigh Valley events at Northampton.

A week before to the games, the college held a clinic for athletes with special needs. The Via all-stars played a key role in helping with that clinic; they also had the opportunity to attend the Via All-Star Banquet last Wednesday at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center which included guest speaker Doug Flutie.

"It was pretty cool knowing the girls off the court," Mertz said. "It's always so intense when we play each other on the court, but to get away from that and get to know each other outside of that was pretty cool. We're all good friends now."

In the final game on Saturday, the East team downed the West all-stars by a final score of 87-84. Richardson scored five points for the West team in his last game wearing a Northwestern jersey.

The South girls all-stars, in large part to a team-high 25 points from Bethlehem Catholic's Kalista Walters, downed the North 81-79 in the first game on Saturday.

Stroudsburg's Daniel Cuevas then poured in 21 points for the North boys in their 105-82 romp over the South all-stars in the second game.