For the first time since the formation of the East Penn Conference in 2013, the Emmaus girls basketball team competed in a conference playoff game.

The Hornets came into the tournament as the eight seed and had to face undefeated top seed Easton in the quarterfinals, an unenviable task to be sure.

As the Lady Rovers have done throughout the season, they piled up early points and rolled to a 23rd win with a 56-25 victory, advancing to the conference semifinals. The loss eliminated Emmaus from conference play, although the Hornets have further work to accomplish this season as they also qualified for a spot in the District 11 tournament, which begins next week.

The high-powered Easton offense came into the matchup averaging over 54 points per game this season and jumped out to a 20-5 lead after the first quarter and expanded their advantage to 36-13 by the time the teams headed to the locker room for halftime. Three Easton players – Evalyse Cole (13 points), Makenna Zimmerman (12) and Anye Staton (12) - all finished in double figures in the scoring column for the Red Rovers.

Meanwhile, the Rovers’ stalwart defense limited the opportunities for Emmaus shooters, leaving sophomore Taylor Griffith as the leading scorer with five points. Seven other Emmaus players hit for points with junior Paige Inman and sophomore Mya Cooper both tallying four points in the game. During the regular season, it was senior Kam Watkins who led Emmaus in points per game, averaging 7.5 per outing, just ahead of Inman, who finished with seven points per game. Cooper finished third with 6.5 points per game.

Emmaus (12-11) continued its improvement from the foul line, hitting all six freebies in the game.

Easton advanced to the semifinals to play fifth-seeded Bethlehem Catholic, who eliminated Allentown Central Catholic with a 34-28 win in their quarterfinal matchup. The other semifinal game saw Parkland square off against Northampton for the third time this season after the Lady Trojans downed Pocono Mountain West and the Konkrete Ladies used a 43-30 win over Nazareth to reach the semifinals. The finals are set for Thursday night at the PPL Center in Allentown.

Meanwhile, the Hornets head back to the gym to prepare for the first round of districts next Friday night. The Class 6A seedings could change depending on the outcome of the league playoffs, but Emmaus will face either Nazareth (16-7) or Northampton (19-4) in the district quarterfinals, which are scheduled to be played Friday, Feb. 25. Emmaus lost to Northampton in both of their meetings this year and did not see Nazareth during the regular season.