The Whitehall girls basketball team is experiencing some growing pains early in the season, dropping their league opener to Northampton, and losing a tough one to Tri-Valley.

While these early contests have seen them falter a bit, especially at the beginning of the game, head coach Dwight Repsher sees some positive signs emerging from the losses.

The fact that they cut the lead to five points at the half after trailing by 10 at the close of the first quarter in the game against the Kids, demonstrates their competitive spirit and desire.

And while they stumbled a bit again in the third quarter, scoring only two points, they managed to recover in the fourth quarter and cut into the Kids lead. Still, the hole they dug for themselves was too deep, losing 43-24 to their division rivals.

"I really liked the way we came back," said Repsher. "Even though we lost, I really saw some positives in that game."

Repsher said that one positive to emerge was a reduction in their turnovers, an area that's been nagging them in this early stage of the season. He also liked the way they kept battling throughout the game. However, he said they'll still need to do a better job of rebounding the ball as league play starts in earnest.

Sparking that first half comeback was point guard Taylor George, who drained a couple of three-pointers to lift the Zephs closer to the Kids. George finished with 14 points to lead the Zephyrs. Additionally, Ashley Barber had four points, and Kaylee Cunningham, Jillian Rex and LeAnna Cruz, all chipped in with two.

The game against Tri-Valley could have been written by Lemony Snicket since it featured a series of unfortunate events. Ivanna Jones left the game with a broken nose, and George was sidelined with a knee injury for a portion of the game. Those two losses of key offensive players were contributing factors in their 40-33 loss to the Bulldogs.

Repsher said that they were winning the game in the second quarter before that spate of bad luck hit, derailing them a bit as they lost their momentum. He said that once they got behind, they couldn't regain their rhythm.

"That combination of things had us all out of sorts," said Repsher.

He said they were in the game, something they've been able to do for the most part this season, but still couldn't overcome those unfortunate events.

Karly Klein and George paced the Zephs with seven points each, while both Jillian Kreglow and Jillian Rex added six.

Repsher said that they continue to make adjustments, specifically in terms of offensive schemes.

He said they've been funneling most of their plays inside, but now wants to see more contributions from the guards to create better balance.

While it's still a young team, he said they're getting better as they start to get more comfortable. Nonetheless, he recognizes they'll have those growing pains.

"It's a work in progress," he said.