It was just one of those nights for the Freedom Patriots when shots wouldn’t fall in a game that mattered in the Lady Pates’ District XI Class 6A Girls Basketball Tournament run, losing to Northampton in the quarterfinal, 51-32, last Friday at Whitehall.

“Size definitely was a factor, and we just weren’t hitting tonight, so it was a combination,” said Freedom coach Steve Raysely. “(Devyn) Demchak had a good game tonight, and, of course, (Grace) Lesko is a tough player, but offensively we just didn’t have a lot working for us tonight, so we couldn’t get on that run that we needed to close the gap and make it a little more interesting.”

Demchak all but took over the first half, scoring 14 of Northampton’s 30 points, and Lesko picked it up in the second half with 12 of the K-Kids’ 21 points.

“I said if we could get a 6, 8-0 run early in the third quarter, it could potentially change the pace of the game,” said Raysely. “Getting into our offense and running it through multiple times was something we were gonna work on, and we did that. We got shots, and they didn’t fall, and Northampton converted, so that was really the difference.”

Shots that did fall for the Pates came early in the game with two consecutive threes by Freedom guard Kailey Turpening. Teammate Keturah Stewart made her way into the paint for six points and converted on three free throws.

“They played Kailey tough,” Raysely said. “She got her looks and they just weren’t falling for her. She was definitely pressing. You could tell she wanted to impact that game in true Turpening style, but they just weren’t falling for her tonight.”

A 19-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter proved to be more than the Pates could overcome, and Northampton retired its starters with 2:53 remaining in the game.

“A lot of people projected us to be not where we were at the end of the season. The goals we set were to get to the EPC Tournament and districts, so we achieved 50 percent of our goals,” said Raysely. “Overall, I think we were three or four wins better than how we ended up at 11-11, but I’m happy where it ended, getting here, and what these girls experienced in a district game because other than Kailey, no one’s experienced a district game, so t was good to get them out here and get that feel.”

The Patriots will graduate four seniors: Turpening, Natalie Stannard, Ciana Feliciano, and Isabel Rodriguez. “They’re extremely positive, very encouraging, and they helped a lot with the underclassmen this year as far as giving them direction and helping them with the offenses and defensive schemes we put out there,” Raysely said. “Definitely a group I’ll always remember. It’s tough to see your seniors move on, but it’s my first one, so you always remember that first group.”