This season has been a struggle for the Northampton girls basketball team.

As owners of just two wins in the first half of the season, they appear destined to miss the postseason for the first time in 9 years.

However, the team is still battling even though it is not showing up in their win-loss record. A prime example is their performance last Thursday against Pocono Mountain West.

The K-Kids went down by 10 points after the first quarter yet fought back and had a chance to tie the game with 10 seconds left. The three-pointer was off the mark and the Panthers added a pair of free throws to ice the game 52-47.

“Even though we lost, we weren’t expected to be in this game. They took Easton down to 6 or 8 points. Nazareth down under 10, too. It’s not a bad team,” declared head coach Jeff Jacksits.

The primary challenge coming into the game was dealing with West’s press after made baskets. Outside of point guard Anne Beenders, the team initially had difficulty dribbling and passing out of trouble which led to 16 turnovers. The Panthers scored 7 points in the first minute of the game without Northampton having been able to bring the ball across half court.

Once the Kids adapted to the game’s tempo, they were able to take advantage of some size mismatches. Dalani Petties and Isabella Pecuch both scored a dozen points to lead the Northampton attack while shooting a combined 12 for 16 from the floor.

The K-Kids trailed 21-11 after the first quarter, 34-25 at halftime, and were still down 9, 47-38, going into the final period.

The Panthers went into milk-the-clock mode, which made sense strategically, but negated the frenetic pace that resulted in having the lead in the first place. Over the next 6 minutes, Northampton made a basket here and there while West could only manage a lone free throw. By the time Pecuch knocked down a jumper from the right elbow with 2:02 left in the game, the Kids’ deficit was a single point, 48-47.

The K-Kids were unable to generate a turnover and had to put West on the charity stripe with 34 seconds left. Both shots were good to boost the lead to three. Northampton got a decent look at a tying shot as the clock ticked down, but it was not to be.

The K-Kids scoring average leaders at the season’s midway point are: Beenders 8.4 ppg, Pecuch 5.9 ppg, Petties, Tatianna Sanchez, and Rachel Yost, all 4.5 ppg, and Jenna Raysely 4.0 ppg.