Northampton girls basketball head coach Jeff Jacksits characterized Tuesday’s matchup with undefeated Parkland as “their bigs versus our speed.”

The Kids took that speed on the road and came home with a 43-40 win over the Trojans.

Northampton got off to a fast start, building a 20-12 edge during the first period. Star senior guard Victoria Keenan continued to bounce back from an injury that caused her to miss the first few games of the season. Keenan scored 10 of her team-high 18 points in the quarter, including a rare 4-point play when she hit a three and was fouled.

The pace slowed a bit in the second quarter. Parkland scored 8 points to Northampton’s 6 and the Kids took a 26-20 lead into halftime.

The third period saw more shooting, but not much more scoring as the teams played to an 8-8 draw during the eight minutes. The Trojans had cut the lead to two points, but the Kids scored the last four points to restore the six point lead at 34-28.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Northampton sought to milk the clock and sustain their advantage. Neither team scored until Keenan made a three halfway through the period. Freshman Kylie Gilliard scored her fourth and fifth points to extend the Northampton lead to 11. Parkland then went on a 7 point run, culminating with a three with 1:11 left in the game.

The rest of the Kids’ scoring came from free throw line as the time wound down. Jenna Rogers calmly went 4-for-4 from the stripe to seal the win. Rogers finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

Jacksits relied heavily on his starters as the Northampton bench saw less than 2 minutes of action. He mentioned the hard work that the team put in on the defensive end of the floor.

“Morgan (Sterner) did a great job of shutting (Claire) Courter down,” he said. “We knew coming in Courter was their leading scorer, so we had to shut her down. Morgan’s our best defensive player, so we put her on her (Courter).

“Our inside girls (Rogers and Gabby Demchak – 6 rebounds), they did a pretty good job of holding their own. They went up against those big girls and it can be tough.”

The win brings Northampton’s record on the season to 5-1. The next game for the Kids is a trip to Nazareth on Friday where the 4-1 Blue Eagles will be waiting. Nazareth was expected to be one of the favorites for an EPC and district title, but an injury to Jaime Youngkin leaves them somewhat diminished although still dangerous.