Aja Blount didn’t want her first playoff game of the season to be her last one as a high school basketball player and she made sure it wasn’t, as she led the Konkrete Kids with 20 points in their 54-37 win in the District 11 6A quarterfinal game against Pocono Mountain East on Feb. 23.

“This game means a lot,” said Blount. “We didn’t want it to end yet. Now we get another try to beat Nazareth and go to the championship.”

After getting off to a slow start and being down 5-0, Northampton stormed back and took the lead midway through the first quarter after Blount made two shots and sophomore forward Jenna Rodgers converted four free throws. The girls took the lead and never trailed again, and by the end of the third quarter held a 15-point lead en route to the win.

With the win, Northampton moved onto the semifinal against the Nazareth Blue Eagles (see above).

Nazareth is the top-seed in the tournament and the girls were looking forward to playing them again after a tough, 44-42 loss to the Blue Eagles earlier in the month in the EPC playoffs.

“We are looking forward to revenge against Nazareth,” said sophomore guard Victoria Keenan.

“I believe the girls are using the results of our last game against Nazareth as motivation,” added head coach Jeff Jacksits.

Jacksits knows the team didn’t give their best effort in their prior meeting against the Blue Eagles. He knows what the girls need to do to get the win and advance to the next round.

“We know we didn’t play a full four quarters of basketball in the last game against them and we were close to pulling out a win,” Jacksits said. “We need to limit our turnovers and do a better job on the boards. We need to stay aggressive and play with intensity for the whole game. Nazareth is a good team and will make you pay for any let downs.”

The winner of this game moves on to the final round and will go up against the winner of the Easton vs. Parkland game, who came into the tournament ranked third and second, respectfully, in the District 11 Class 6A bracket.

“The girls realize the importance of this game and know that in order to win a district title, we must get over the Nazareth hurdle,” said Jacksits.