By the time the A’Town Throwdown Girls’ Basketball Tournament at SportsFest got underway, Northampton’s girls basketball team had already undergone some heavy duty training at a girls basketball camp in North Carolina.

“It was a good experience for the girls,” said Northampton coach Jeff Jacksits. “They played eight games in three days.”

The games included contests against two state champions, one from South Carolina and one from Illinois.

“We were in it,” said Jacksits, “but winning and losing wasn’t that important. It was more about team bonding. By the last night, they really got to know each other.”

A week after their return, the players scattered to their respective AAU teams, only to reconvene at SportsFest where Northampton reached the final on July 17, but fell to Nazareth 57-48.

The final was Northampton’s fourth game that day, having defeated Freedom 42-33, Notre Dame 38-26, and Allen 55-43.

Aja Blount, Victoria Keenan, Jade Rindock, and Janessa Meixner were key throughout the tournament.

“Everyone has a hard time stopping Aja, but that’s been for three years,” Jacksits said. “We’ve been playing well as a team. [I’m seeing] confidence in their teammates, and we want to have more communication with the age differences [of our players]. We’re missing three or four girls right now.”

Northampton opened the tournament with victories over Shenandoah Valley 49-26, Stroudsburg 47-17, and Pocono Mountain East (score unavailable).