The Nazareth and Northampton girls basketball teams have engaged in a number of memorable games over the last few years and Tuesday’s matchup between the 9-3 Blue Eagles and 11-2 Konkrete Kids seemed poised to continue that legacy.

But when the final horn blew, the K-Kids stood on the good side of a 53-27 thrashing of their former EPC divisional rivals.

Northampton was balanced and consistent on offense with quarterly point outputs of 13-14-14-12. They also dominated on the defensive end shutting out the Blue Eagles in the second quarter and holding Nazareth’s star player, Kelly Leszcynski, scoreless in the first half.

The K-Kids never trailed as Kylie Gilliard and Grace Lesko staked Northampton to a 9-4 lead with a trio of three-pointers in the first two-and-half minutes. The 13-9 first quarter lead expanded to 27-9 at the half and Nazareth never got closer than 16 points at any juncture in the second half.

Head coach Jeff Jacksits summed up the win.

“We played really good defense,” he said. “We didn’t let Leszcynski and (Maddie) Ahearn get off except when Leczcynski made about a 50-footer. Overall we did a good, solid defensive job. I was wondering how we’d play after not being challenged in our last couple of games.”

Jacksits highlighted a few players performances.

“Maddie (Hurst) did a good job when Nicole (Yellen) got in foul trouble,” he said. “They both did a good job on Ahearn. Taylor (Kranzley) did really well. She made some nice drives and at the right time. I was happy with a lot of stuff we did tonight.”

Lesko led the K-Kids with 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Kranzley had a dozen points and a pair of steals in addition to drawing the assignment of guarding Leszcynski. Devyn Demchak scored 11 points and grabbed 7 boards. Gilliard had 9 points, Yellen had 3 points, and Kadee Schrader had 2.

The K-Kids’ win over Pocono Mountain East last Saturday clinched a district playoff berth, not that there any doubt that it would happen. They currently hold down the second spot in the District XI 6A power rankings, trailing only undefeated Easton.

Northampton hosts Allen on Friday for Mentor Night, before heading to North Schuylkill for a Saturday afternoon game. The Spartans are 10-1 on the season and should pose a quality nonleague challenge. On Tuesday, the Kids start the series of rematches against the EPC West with a game at Emmaus. The EPC tournament starts February 11.