When Victoria Keenan’s crossover dribble left her hapless Central Catholic defender in a heap on the floor during Northampton’s first possession of the game, it foreshadowed the kind of dominant performance that would lead to the Kids’ 20th win of the season.

Friday night’s 53-36 EPC quarterfinal victory moved the Kids one step closer to the first girls basketball league title for Northampton since 1998.

Despite their broken ankles, the Vikettes were still in the game after the first quarter, trailing 12-9 after the eight minutes.

Central scored the first basket of the second period to get within one point. From that point on it was all Northampton. The Kids’ defense held the Vikettes to 9 points over the next 17 minutes of game play.

Central’s leading scorer, Jess Davis, probably saw the number 5 in her dreams Friday night. Morgan Sterner relentlessly chased her all over the court, holding her to a mere two points during the first 31:30 of the game.

Head coach Jeff Jacksits spoke about his lockdown defender.

“We didn’t want Jess to get hot like in the last game. Morgan can run forever, like that Energizer Bunny from the battery commercial. I told her ‘If you need a break, I’ll call a timeout,’ but she never asked for a break.”

While Sterner and Keenan shut down the Central guards, Jenna Rogers ruled the paint, recording 8 blocks.

Northampton led 24-13 at the half and 42-20 through three quarters before putting it on cruise control in the fourth.

Rogers was two blocks away from a triple double as she led Northampton with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Sterner was a force on the offensive end too, as she added 11 points. Keenan and Kylie Gilliard scored 10 apiece and both had 2 steals.

Keenan remarked on the energy that the home crowd provided.

“The crowd was really hyped and we had the whole student section behind us and fighting with us,” she said. “It made us confident.”

If the Kids get by Nazareth on Thursday, they will play in the EPC championship game at 6:00 pm on Friday at Easton Middle School. The other side of the bracket has Bethlehem Catholic and Freedom as the semifinalists.

Rogers spoke about trying to deliver a league championship for the first time in 21 years.

“This would mean so much for us,” she said. “We’ve been working hard all season. We have great team chemistry. Putting our year up on that banner would be a huge accomplishment.”

On Monday, Victoria Keenan was named the EPC’s Most Valuable Player. Jenna Rogers was 1st team All-EPC and sophomore Morgan Sterner was named to the 3rd team.