Freedom’s girls’ basketball team won its first round of PIAA State Class 6A playoffs with a 59-42 victory over Perkiomen Valley on Friday night at Easton Area Middle School.

“Our team had a lot of momentum going into this game, and everyone lifts each other up and helps with confidence,” said Patriot guard Corrin Gill. “We were prepared for the game, and we knew going into it that we were the more confident team.”

Gill’s shooting confidence also emerged from the start, hitting a three pointer in the first quarter and another in the second.

“In the past couple games, I’ve been more tentative, but my coach tells us we need to be confident and take open shots when we get them,” she said.

It was, in fact, a team effort, with scoring across the board by Gill with eight points, Jennifer Kokolus with 16, Kyra Jefferson with 15 points, Hailey Silfies with 14, Brenna Ortwein with four points, and Yasmine Herrera with two.

The Patriots’ challenge would be Perkiomen Valley’s bigs, Megan Moore, Megan Jonassen, and Taylor Hamm, who kept the game close in the first quarter when Freedom led by only two points, 14-12.

By the second half, the Vikings’ trio was all but shut down by the Patriots’ defense, and Freedom took a 12 point lead at the end of the third quarter.

“We knew their players and who we had to stop,” said Gill. “We were doing very well in the first half, so we just needed to continue doing what we were doing.”

The Patriots scored eight straight points in the third before Gabby Marinacci hit a three to end the period.

In the fourth quarter, the Vikings were held to eight points while the Patriots scored 13.

Freedom advances to the second round of state playoffs and will have taken on Abington on Tuesday night, past Press deadlines.