On paper, it looked like a likely Northampton victory over Pocono Mountain West in an opening-round District 11 Class 6A playoff game. The Konkrete Kids won a regular-season contest by 18 points.

But Kids’ head coach Jeff Jacksits warned his team about the intangible factor. Stacy Perryman, the Panthers’ head coach, lost a battle to cancer a month ago.

Unfortunately for the Kids, they came up short, and the season suddenly ended.

In a tight game throughout, Pocono Mountain West recorded a pair of steals that translated into baskets in the final minute and they stunned Northampton, 42-40.

“I didn’t think we matched their emotion in the game,” said Jacksits. “We also didn’t execute as well as we could have at times.

“It was close the whole game. We knew they would be playing with a lot of emotion due to the passing of their coach. They got two quick steals at the end of the game, and we didn’t recover.”

Jacksits also noted that his team made just nine of 19 free throws, and managed just one of nine three-point attempts. Junior Morgan Sterner led the Kids with 12 points.

“We didn’t shoot well,” he added. “We had to find another way. The girls were upset after the game, and I told them to remember what it felt like. We’re a young team and a lot of them don’t have a sense of urgency yet.

“We weren’t able to put together four quarters all season.”

The Kids will return all of their players next season, and their JV team had a successful campaign this past season as well.

With the loss of Victoria Keenan and Jenna Rogers, two 1,000-point plus scorers who helped lead them to a district title last season, many saw the Kids being in a rebuilding mode this season. But, the Kids ended their year with an overall 18-6 record.

“We may have overachieved this year,” said Jacksits. “We lost two major contributors from las year’s team.

“Some of the girls will have to step up to see if they can get some more varsity time next year.”

Jacksits will look to sophomore guards Taylor Kranzley and Kylie Gilliard along with freshman Grace Lesko to set the pace for next season.

“Kranzley improved a lot and did a great job taking over at point guard,” said Jacksits. “Gilliard has developed into a consistent contributor, and Lesko has a lot of potential. She (Lesko) will continue to grow as player.

“We’ll get back together as a team in April, and we’ll be looking forward to next season.”