It's been a tough stretch for the Whitehall girls basketball team, and they're going to need a little patience to turn their fortunes around.

After dropping four consecutive games, head coach Rick Worman attributes some of those losses to being impatient on offense. He said they need to hold onto the ball a little longer, looking for an open shot. He chalks some of that impatience on having a young team, so he's hopeful they'll remedy that situation once they gain more experience.

Another bugaboo has been turnovers, and that was clearly evident in their last loss to Northwestern Lehigh High School last week. They scored 15 points in the first quarter, surging to a seven-point lead over the Tigers. However, Worman said that total could have been greater, but they committed six turnovers in the opening stanza.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

In the following three quarters, the points dipped while the turnovers mounted. They scored a total of 15 points the rest of the way, and were plagued by 18 more turnovers for a total of 24. That combination paved the way for a 45-30 loss to the Tigers.

While those two factors played a role, Worman said the biggest obstacle to winning the last four games has been their offensive production.

"It's been the inability to put the ball in the net," said Worman. "It's really a matter of not making shots. That has been really frustrating."

Illustrating that point was their game against Pocono Mountain West High School. While they had a good defensive game, registering eight blocks and 11 steals, they went 9-50 on the floor against the Panthers.

"You can't win too many games like that," said Worman.

Worman said it's been struggle to find some offensive consistency and establish a crisp, definitive attack. He also said their offensive troubles have been further compounded by teams utilizing a zone defense, something Northwestern Lehigh did in the second half that hamstrung their offense.

"We really struggle against the zone to make shots," he said.

With their loss on Dec. 28, to the Tigers, their record fell to 2-6. Still, they have all the ingredients for success and have the ability to right the ship. They've played some good teams at the outset, and showed that can play well against winning teams as evidenced by their effort against Pine Grove High School who recently defeated Nazareth Area High School at the Blue Eagle's Holiday Tournament.

"We shot the ball pretty well against Pine Grove," said Worman. "It shows we can do it. If you shoot and make shots, you'll have some success."

In the game against the Tigers, the Zephs were led by Nicole Umbenhauer who dropped in 10 points. Taylor George added nine, while Madison Kelly had three.

Pacing the Zephs in the PMW game was Sarah Schannauer and Kelly who both dropped in seven. Karly Klein and George added four, while Brook Mellinger and Brianna Walker each sank two points.