During his first tenure at the helm of the Catasauqua girls' basketball program, Dave Troxell's success mainly depended on stressing fundamentals and executing the game in a simple fashion. It arguably proved to be a success one as Troxell's teams won 201 games and were frequent visitors to the postseason during his 11 seasons.

In his first season back at the helm since the 2009 season, Troxell has worked to bring back some of his same techniques with the increased likelihood of the same results in the near future. However, Troxell knows the transformation will take time.

After they won their opener against Mahanoy Area, the Roughies had dropped their next seven games through Dec. 21.

"We have just made too many turnovers," said Troxell. "Turnovers have really hurt us in our games except the Northwestern game (a 64-15 loss). We have had trouble getting the ball into the front court to help us get a shot.

"We have also had trouble with execution, but that is due in part to our turnovers. We also need to play more consistently over four quarters. Right now, we have been only playing for one or one-and-a half quarters.

"We need to play consistent for four quarters."

One defeat that recently haunted Troxell was a 26-25 defeat to Northern Lehigh on Dec. 21 in which the Roughies took a three-point lead into the third quarter. It was a matter of his squad learning to play with confidence

"The Northern Lehigh loss was a tough one," said Troxell. "They (Northern Lehigh) are a quality opponent, but I thought we would be very competitive with them. We had a lead at halftime and the lead went back and forth between us.

"We just have to learn to play with a lead. That was one we should have had."

Troxell has been pleased with the play of returning starters Katie Buczynski, Shiloh Sziy, and Janae Matos, all of whom helped set the pace. Buczynski has been the team's leading scorer followed by Sziy, who has also been a force on the boards.

"Katie (Buczynski) is our biggest offensive threat," said Troxell. "She has provided her senior leadership and we have also relied on her experience. We're relying on Shiloh (Sziy) as well. Janae (Matos) has done a good job at the point.

"We also have had some other contributions from Rachel Sell, Kelly Sobrinski, Quinn Bachman, and Amary Moten. We're looking to have balance and scoring from everybody."

Troxell stated his club will be idle until early January, and the hiatus will allow his team to work on their game plan. He knows his team's attitude has been positive.

"I want us to be competitive during the fourth quarter," said Troxell. "We're going to work on some fundamental things for the second half of the season. We'll keep fighting and keep trying. The girls are not quitters and we'll be in games."