Freeport's Samantha Clark (12) gets a hand on a pass intended for Knoch's Skylar Burkett during the Yellowjackets' 47-39 win over the Knights Thursday night.

JEFFERSON TWP — After what it was putting up earlier this season, Freeport’s offense has cooled off significantly.

The team’s defense, however, continues to bring the heat.

The Yellowjackets forced 21 turnovers and held an opponent to under 40 points for the fifth time this season while earning a crucial 47-39 Section 1-4A girls basketball victory Thursday at Knoch.

Freeport recently managed a stretch of five straight games of scoring at least 65 points, but the ‘Jackets’ last two games — including a 34-28 win over Apollo-Ridge on Monday — have yielded a combined 81 points.

“Our scoring is down, but we missed some layups tonight,” said Freeport coach Fred Soilis. We also had (18) turnovers and that’s too many. Our goal was to give up no more than 34 points tonight and we allowed a few more than we wanted. We got the win, though, and that’s the most important thing.”

This is an excerpt — read more about the game in Friday’s Butler Eagle.