Freeport fell just shy of being the first crew since before Christmas to beat rival Knoch, but the visiting Knights (19-2, 12-0) pulled out a 52-49 victory. They’ve strung together 16 wins in a row and, with that, finish with a perfect record in Section 1-4A girls basketball play.

The Yellowjackets’ Melaina DeZort nailed three treys in the final quarter and paced all scorers with 22 points. But the combined efforts of Knoch’s Madilyn Boyer (21 points) and Hattie McGraw (14) proved to be too much for Freeport (6-10, 5-6).

KNOCH 52

Madilyn Boyer 21, Hattie McGraw 14, Karlee Buterbaugh 8, Nina Shaw 5, CeCe Kosecki 2, Naturelle Ewing 2. Totals: 21 4-6 52.

FREEPORT 49

Melaina DeZort 22, Ava Soilis 12, Morgan Croney 9, Leah Hartman 2, Marlee Sholtes 2, Jaden Gaillot 2. Totals: 17 8-12 49.

Knoch 13 18 12 9 — 52

Freeport 18 13 7 11 — 49

3-point goals: Knoch 6 (McGraw 4, Boyer 2); Freeport 7 (DeZort 3, Soilis 2, Croney 2)

Saturday: Kiski Area at Freeport

Boys Basketball

Union’s Payton Johnston bucketed 18 of his game-high 20 points in the first 16 minutes as his team built a 17-point lead before halftime in a 66-50 win over A-C Valley.

Caden Rainey posted 15 in assistance and Zander Laughlin 13.

Ryan Cooper, Landon Chalmers, and Jay Clover all totaled double-digits for the visiting Falcons.

A-C VALLEY 50

Ryan Cooper 14, Landon Chalmers 12, Jay Clover 12, Brody Dittman 9, Alex Preston 3. Totals: 19 10-18 50.

UNION 66

Payton Johnston 20, Caden Rainey 15, Zander Laughlin 13, Trey Fleming 8, Skyler Roxbury 7, Dawson Camper 3. Totals: 22 14-25 66.

A-C Valley 11 10 13 16 — 50

Union 21 17 11 17 — 66

3-point goals: A-C Valley 2 (Dittman 2); Union 3 (Johnston 2, Roxbury)

Rifle

Butler had three shooters place among the top 16 at Thursday’s WPIAL Individual Championships.

Brianna Bell finished in second place, Hanna Beacom took third and Hayleigh Grog 15th. All three will compete in the state match next week.

Wrestling

Paul Kuczynski and Wyatt Foster had pins at 120 and 189 pounds, respectively, for Knoch, but the Knights dropped a 39-24 dual match decision to Indiana.

Indiana 39, Knoch 24

106-Nico Fanella (I) pinned Muranda LaJevic, :30; 113-Carter Putt (I) pinned Matt Frank, 1:27; 120-Paul Kuczynski K) pinned James Methven, :40; 126-Nicholas Golab (K) by forfeit; 132-Double Forfeit; 138-Double Forfeit; 145-Rocco Cosentino (I) by forfeit; 152-William Turner (I) pinned Aaron Butler, 5:05; 160-Danny Turner (I) dec. Gavin McGowan, 3-0; 172-Fox VanLeer (I) by forfeit; 189-Wyatt Foster (K) pinned Alvin Liu, 2:05; 215-Hunter Smathers (I) by forfeit; Hwt.-Logan Klemm (K) by forfeit