The first round of the East Penn Conference basketball playoffs resulted in a 66-52 loss for Liberty to Northampton last Friday at Liberty High School.

The first quarter, which ended in a 16-4 lead for the Konkrete Kids, seemed to be a consequence of several missed shots by the Hurricanes, and the capability of Northampton’s Sophia Eckroth to cut through Liberty’s defense on the inside.

In the second quarter, it was Northampton forward, Aja Blount, who was working on the inside, scoring 14 points.

Liberty coach Becky Soto said, “They have a guard and post player who work phenomenally together.”

Victoria Keenan is that guard, and the Northampton freshman, known for her three-point shot, contributed 16 points. Blount had 31 points all together.

At halftime, Soto spoke to her team about continuity.

“It’s not going to work unless you do it,” she said. “We tried to get it going, tried to break it down into baskets. There were spurts.”

The Hurricanes are typically an up-tempo team, but on this night, the continuity in tempo was lacking, although Liberty guard, Kaylin West, tried to push the offense, and Taysia Snead tried to push the defense.

All the while, the Konkrete Kids looked to keep Liberty outside shooter, Maddie Capuano, at bay.

Northampton coach Jeff Jacksits said, “We matched Capuano up right away, and Lauren Sterner did a great job containing her.”

Capuano did score 11 points, including two threes, while West had 13 points and Snead had 14. Torie Zerbe added 7 points for the Hurricanes.

Before the start of regular season play, Coach Soto and her staff had high hopes for the Hurricanes.

“We still do,” Soto said, “but not everybody can do it perfect every time.”

Liberty will compete in the District XI tournament, scheduled to begin next week.