This year’s Easton Rotary Tournament provided a holiday treat for girls basketball fans.

Easton and Emmaus have been the top two teams in the East Penn Conference and District 11 through the early part of the season and they met in Saturday’s tournament final.

The Hornets took control of the game early in the second quarter and pulled away in the second half for a 42-23 win over the Rovers.

“It’s a good feeling,” said tournament most valuable player Gabby DeVita, who scored eight points against Easton and 27 in two games at the event. “We proved we want to play. We proved we want to win.”

The game was back and forth through the first quarter. A DeVita rebound and put back with 5:48 left in the first half put the Hornets ahead for good, 10-9, and started an 8-0 Emmaus run.

“They just settled and made the right passes,” said Hornet head coach Avon Mack. “In the first quarter we tried to squeeze passes into tight spaces instead of just swinging it to the right person. Once we did that, we started getting open jump shots.”

The Hornets (9-1 overall; 6-0 EPC) committed six turnovers in the first quarter, but just another seven over the rest of the game. They forced 18 Rover turnovers while also dominating the glass with 33 rebounds to just 19 for Easton (7-1; 6-0).

“Defense travels no matter where we go,” Mack said. “If we play tight defense, no matter if we make or miss shots we should be fine. And they locked in.

“Our goal was to hold Easton under 20 points in the first half. We almost did it for the whole game.”

Kayla Snyder made two second-quarter three pointers and scored eight of her team’s 13 second-quarter points to build an 18-11 lead at halftime.

Snyder scored a game-high 18 points and earned a place on the all-tournament team. She also scored six points in the Hornets’ first-round win over Phillipsburg.

“Last couple games I was proud of her,’ said Mack, “because her stat line wasn’t crazy, but what she did for me on the court was phenomenal.

“I look at her and Gabby as extensions of me on the court to calm the ladies when they’re in disarray and get us into our sets. For these last couple games they’ve been phenomenal players.”

Sylvia Sokolofski and Sofia Laird hit from beyond the arc in the third quarter as Emmaus stretched it’s lead to 32-16 after three quarters.

The Hornet lead got as high as 42-19 after an Olive Whitney three-pointer late in the fourth quarter before the Rovers got two late buckets.

The game was a nonleague contest and the two teams are not scheduled to meet in the EPC regular season this year. They remain the only two teams left without a loss in league play.

“This is a statement win for us,” said Snyder. “It’s a very big win. We wanted to come in with high energy and intensity the whole game and we did.”

In Friday’s tournament opener, the Hornets held the Stateliners scoreless in the first quarter to take a 23-0 lead en route to a 53-10 win. They also help Phillipsburg scoreless in the third quarter, winning it 10-0.

Whitney scored 10 points in that game, including hitting from beyond the arc three times, while DeVita’s 19 points was a game-high.