Freeport girls’ season ends with loss to Beaver in WPIAL basketball first round
BEAVER — A three-month lesson just concluded for Freeport’s girls basketball team, one that should serve the young Yellowjackets well moving forward.
In Monday’s 62-28 loss to host Beaver in a WPIAL Class 4A first-round playoff, Freeport started a junior, two sophomores and two freshmen.
The contest was decided in the first half, but first-year ’Jackets coach Jason Kerr was still focused on what his players could glean from the program’s first postseason appearance in three seasons.
“I told them at halftime to take advantage of this opportunity,” Kerr said. “Learn from the playoff environment. Learn from facing a really good team and the press defense they were playing against us. You can’t replicate that in practice.”
Freeport (6-17) began the season 1-8, but swept section foes Derry and Valley and split with Highlands. The five wins were enough to earn the Yellowjackets a playoff berth out of Section 1 as the No. 12 seed.
The team leaned on its defense to get to the postseason.
“We were able to hold some teams and individual players down, but we struggled to score and need to get better offensively,” Kerr said. “We’ve been rotating four or five freshmen in and have played with a young lineup since the start of the season.
“We want the girls to remember how they approached this game, how Beaver approached it. It was a great experience, and we’re excited for the future.”
Of the four reserves who saw time on the court against Beaver (17-5), three are freshmen.
A freshman starter, Maggie Conger, paced Freeport with eight points Monday.
“She rarely comes out of the game and has been a rock for us,” Kerr said.
The youth movement has junior Nia DiSanti believing brighter days are ahead.
“Making the playoffs and knowing so many of us are back next year, we think we can improve and get a better seed,” she said. “The team remained pretty positive during the season.”
FREEPORT 28
Lilly Holloway 2 0-0 6, Macy Stivenson 0 3-4 3, Maggie Conger 3 2-2 8, Nia DiSanti 3 0-0 6, CeCe Schlegel 1 0-0 2, Elena Jenkins 0 2-2 2, Sophia Conger 0 1-2 1, Sophia Glass 0 0-0 0, Samantha Liput 0 0-0 0. Totals: 9 8-10 28.
BEAVER 62
Sami Springman 3 0-0 7, Bridget Mayo 3 1-2 7, Ava Wright 7 2-4 19, Annsley Baker 3 3-4 11, Emerson Connelly 5 0-0 12, Korrine Davis 1 0-0 2, Malissa Martin 2 0-0 4, Lily Cornman 0 0-0 0, Chloe Tooch 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 6-10 62.
Freeport 5 2 10 11 — 28
Beaver 23 22 13 4 — 62
3-point goals: Freeport 2 (Holloway 2); Beaver 8 (Wright 3, Baker 2, Connelly 2, Springman)
