The reality of the PIAA basketball playoffs is that of the qualifiers, only the six state champions will end their seasons with a win. The Northampton girls basketball team saw their season come to an end at Cumberland Valley HS against District 7’s Norwin Lady Knights, 68-58.

Norwin jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, but an 8-point run fueled by 2 Victoria Keenan threes put the Kids ahead at the 4:36 mark of the first period. The Knights scored the last 5 points of the quarter to take a 13-10 lead after one.

Norwin used an 8-3 run early in the second period to stretch the lead to 8. They were able to push the lead to 9 before Northampton scored the final 4 points of the period. Jenna Rogers scored from the low post at the buzzer to make the score 32-27 at the half.

A 9-0 Norwin advantage to start the third quarter threatened to blow the game open and prompted head coach Jeff Jacksits to use a timeout. The Kids responded with an 8-point run of their own. The teams traded scores over the last 3 minutes of the period and when it was over the Knights led 50-42.

In the final period, a long Keenan three cut the Norwin lead to 7 with 4:24 remaining in the game. However, the Knights scored the next 8 points, mostly on free throws, to put the game out of reach.

Norwin got to far more rebounds and loose balls. They extended possessions by either anticipating the bounce off the rim and being in the right spot to corral the ball or by tipping contested rebounds out of the paint to a waiting teammate.

The Knights also had more depth. Their substitution patterns resembled hockey line changes whereas the Northampton starting five saw all the action until the result was no longer in doubt.

Rogers gave it her all in her final game in orange and black. She had a game-high 27 points and pulled down 15 rebounds. Her 1,120 points puts her 7th in the history of Northampton girls basketball.

Keenan’s Northampton career came to an end with a 16-point effort in a game where the Norwin pressure was designed to the get the ball out of her hands. Keenan finished with 1,701 total points, good for 3rd all-time for the Kids.

Kylie Gilliard added 9 points and Morgan Sterner scored 5 for the Kids.

Although the season ended on a down note, this team earned its place on the banners in Pete Schneider Gymnasium. They finished 25-5, stood atop the District XI 6A standings and validated that regular season performance by claiming the District XI Championship by knocking off the defending champion.

“This is one of the most fun teams that I’ve ever coached,” Jacksits said after the loss. “They hustled all game. They didn’t give up. I’m proud of our team, the way they played all year. The seniors: Victoria, Jenna, and Gabby, did a great job leading our young team. It was a great year.”