The Freedom girls basketball program enjoyed a breakthrough 2016-17 season.

The Patriots' play during the Cedar Beach Basketball Showcase has them looking to take another step toward contending for titles in 2017-18.

Freedom handled all the local competition it saw this weekend. University City (N.J.) proved to be the one team too tough for the Patriots, beating them twice Sunday, including a 51-40 victory in the title game.

Tournament MVP Danielle Robinson scored a game-high 20 points as University City used a late 18-4 run to pull away. Hailey Selfies scored 19 points to pace Freedom and earn a spot on the all-tournament team.

"The thing that I'm really happy about the whole weekend is we battled," Freedom coach Dean Reiman said. "We had nine kids here today. We played with a lot of guts and courage and came back. We got down to them both times and came right back into the games both times.

"We showed a lot of character. All positive things to build off of."

Freedom earned its first league tournament berth since 2006 and first District 11 slot since 2010 over the winter. It graduated Meckenzie Herman, Kaitlyn Swint, Giselle Sanchez and Jaiden Coyne from that team, which went 14-10.

The Patriots lost both of their postseason contests in the winter, falling to Bethlehem Catholic in the EPC quarterfinals and Parkland in the District 11 6A quarterfinals. They still are trending upward thanks to returning talent like Silfies and a freshman team that went 18-0.

Silfies, a 5-11 rising senior wing, scored a team-best 11 points in Freedom's 33-25 win over Parkland in the winners bracket semifinals. She had 16 more when the Patriots beat Boyertown 51-37 to set up their second matchup against University City.

Jenn Kokolus led Freedom with 17 points against Boyertown. Fifteen of her points came in the first half, when the Patriots built a 31-19 lead.

"We knew that they were trapping because they were leaving their girl," Silfies said. "So we knew to skip the passes and move the ball quickly to get open layups.

"We knew they were going to be tough coming in, but we knew we had more size than them, so we attacked the boards and used our size as an advantage."

Freedom played with plenty of energy in its final game of the day. The Patriots trailed by 14 points early but used a 27-10 run to take 34-31 lead. Silfies put them ahead with a 3-pointer.

University City answered with the next 11 points. It never trailed again, winning the tournament in its first Allentown appearance.

"It was fun playing them," Reiman said. "I already exchanged numbers with their coach to try to play them in the fall. Maybe we'll schedule them because they have an open game. They're very athletic, quick.

"You keep playing teams like that and you're only going to get better. For summer, for us, that's what it's all about."

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A tiring run

Boyertown lost its tournament opener to Nazareth on Friday, leaving it with a long road back through the losers bracket. The Bears reached the losers bracket final after winning three games Sunday but fell to Freedom 51-37.

Kylie Webb led Boyertown with 15 points. The Bears won the PIAA Class 6A title in March but graduated three key players from that team, including Bucknell recruit Abby Kapp and co-captain Alli Marcus.

"They're just trying to figure out their roles on the team," Boyertown varsity assistant and JV coach Troy Sweisfort said. "It's going to take time, but I think we'll be fine.

"I thought we played well here today. We weren't quite sure what to expect, because you come in with young kids. But they stepped up to the challenge and played very well."

Go, West

Pocono Mountain West reached Sunday's winners bracket semifinals before falling to University City (N.J.). The Panthers rebounded to knock Allen from the tournament but ended their run by forfeiting a matchup with Boyertown to attend an awards ceremony.

Jameka Pilgrim scored 11 points in Pocono Mountain West's 34-26 win over Allen.

Tip-ins

Parkland was the other local team to reach the winners bracket semifinals. The Trojans fell to Freedom 33-25 before Boyertown eliminated them with a 35-24 win. ... Allen won two losers bracket games Sunday before Pocono Mountain West eliminated it. Kion Andrews scored 41 total points in the Chicks' wins over Whitehall and Nazareth. She earned a spot on the all-tournament team.

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Freedom players encouraged by Cedar Beach performance - Allentown Morning Call