The best 6A girls basketball team in District XI is also its champion. The 2019 Northampton Konkrete Kids completed their journey with a 60-52 win over defending champion Freedom to claim the school’s first district title in girls basketball since 2011.

The first quarter started calmly enough as each team made short scoring runs. Freedom scored the final five points of the period to erase a Northampton lead and tie the score at 12-12.

Although the Patriots would outscore the Kids by only four points in the second quarter, it felt like the game was in danger of slipping away. All-EPC first-teamer Jenna Rogers picked up her third personal foul with 2:50 to go in the half and Northampton was having trouble matching Freedom’s quickness.

Head coach Jeff Jacksits explained the adjustments he had to make at halftime.

“We went to a faster lineup which helped,” he said. “We adjusted to their triangle-and-two and got some open looks for Kylie [Gilliard], which she made, which opened things up for Victoria [Keenan].”

Fueled by chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P!” from the Northampton student section, Keenan led the Kids in producing their best quarter of the season. A 19-4 run filled with end-to-end action and three-point bombs drove the Northampton crowd into a frenzy. The team walked to bench after the horn to a standing ovation and holding 47-39 lead.

The fans were so loud in the final period that Jacksits had to go to midcourt and scream at the referees in order to get them to acknowledge a timeout. Freedom did cut the lead to five points with three minutes left in the game to keep things tense, but they never got any closer. The final buzzer sounded, and the celebration ensued.

Championship teams need their best player to step in big moments and Keenan controlled the game at both ends of the floor. In addition to her game-high 28 points, she seemed to get to every loose ball, racking up seven rebounds and six steals. For good measure, she also blocked two shots.

While getting a star performance from the District’s best player was not a surprise, the breakout performance from Gilliard turned heads. The freshman guard was Northampton’s second-leading scorer with 15, including going 3-for-3 from the field in the crucial third quarter.

Rogers added 10 points and seven rebounds, including securing the ball after the final shot of the game. A teary-eyed Rogers was still swept up in the emotion of the win even after the Kids had started to cut down the nets.

“This team has been amazing,” said Rogers. “The last three years, this is what we’ve been working for and to get it now is the cherry on top of the cake. I’m glad I can go out this.”

In the first round of the state championship, the Kids will take on Methacton. The Warriors are the #11 seed from District 1 and have a season record of 21-6. The game will be played Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Freedom. Nazareth plays Spring Ford at 6 p.m. if you want to take in more state playoff action.

If Northampton wins its game, round two will be played on Tuesday at a time and place TBD. he Kids would take on the winner of Altoona (District 6 champion) and Norwin (District 7, 4th place).