After beating Abington, girls fall to Bears
Northampton came prepared for it’s second round PIAA Class 6A 73-68 victory over Abington last Thursday at Souderton, just not in the way one might expect.
“No, we didn’t practice. We haven’t practiced for two days. The only practice we had was right before we left for the game,” said Northampton coach Jeff Jacksits.
Despite the weather, the K-Kids did their homework.
“We knew everything about them,” Jacksits said. “Everything.”
Victoria Keenan, Aja Blount, and Jenna Rogers combined for nine straight points at the end of the first quarter, two on a steal by Keenan, and two on a turnover by Rogers, to take a 22-16 lead.
At the end of the second quarter, Rogers scored at the buzzer on a pass from Keenan who was on the ground with a rolling ball, and the Kids were ahead 39-34.
“We talked about rotating more and getting on their shooters. Our coach was letting us know how to stop them,” said Blount. “We knew their big girls, and that it would be very rough this game. It was nerve wracking because I’m not used to going against that.”
Abington took the lead with six straight points to start the third quarter, but Northampton came out on top by the end of the period 54-48.
“They picked each other up at the right time,” Jacksits said. “Devon [Saul], Jade [Rindock] matched up when they needed to, and they couldn’t stop Victoria. He likes to press, and we’re fine with that.”
With 2:21 left in the game, the Ghosts cut the Kids’ lead to two points, and then one point at 1:15.
“It was very intense, coming down to the end, and we were relieved to get the lead with five,” said Blount.
Abington proceeded to dribble the ball right into Keenan’s arms, who scored a layup and was fouled on the shot. Saul added a point on a free throw, and Blount forced a turnover to end the game.
On Saturday, Northampton took on Boyertown in the 6A quarterfinal and lost 56-55 in the final seconds.
Blount scored 28 points against the Bears, had 12 rebounds, and was 14 for 14 on free throws. Keenan added 13 points, and Rogers had seven points for the Kids.