Freedom’s girls’ basketball team got off to a very slow start but turned the tables on Nazareth awfully fast in the Patriots’ 48-32 District XI Class 6A girls’ basketball semifinal victory on Monday at Catasauqua High School.

“We knew we came out flat, and we knew we needed to want it more than they did,” said Freedom guard Brenna Ortwein. “It was as simple as getting our shooters hot, and having Jen [Kokolus] make shots in the post. When Jen’s on, and Kailey’s [Turpening] shooting hot, it’s kind of hard to stop.”

Nazareth took control on back-to-back threes by freshman Kelly Leszcynski, and Kokolus scored first for Freedom but not until five minutes into the game.

After trailing by seven points at the end of the first quarter, the Patriots went on a 13-0 run on a combination of Turpening, Ortwein, and Corrin Gill in the second quarter when the Blue Eagles scored just one point with 3:12 remaining in the half. Eight of the Patriots’ points were made by Turpening.

“We talked about not worrying about losing our lead but working on making it bigger,” Ortwein said.

Kokolus picked up steam in the second half, scoring from underneath on a quick, no-look pass by Turpening and was fouled on the play putting the Pates well on their way to extending their lead.

Freedom is the defending district champion and will take on Northampton in the district final this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Easton Area Middle School.

The Patriots lost to the Konkrete Kids by one point in a regular season game.

“We definitely think we have a chance of beating them, and it should be a good game, playing a team we want revenge against,” Ortwein said.