With a year under his belt, and a full roster of returning players, head coach Dwight Repsher can expect a brighter future.

The Zephyrs girls basketball team finished 7-14 this season, with a lot of those losses by only a few points, especially later in the year. They showed progress throughout the year and that's a reason for optimism heading into next season.

As they got over those early season missteps, losing the first six games to start the season, Repsher felt they found some firm footing once they won their first game.

"Once we got our first win, I thought we played, with the exception of a few games, better in ever game," said Repsher.

He believed their early struggles were a combination of inexperience and not knowing how to win. Once they got over those hurdles they starting stringing together some wins. That midseason surge saw them collecting seven wins in eleven games and Repsher said it was a sign that the team was progressing.

"I think we made a lot of progress in a lot of areas," he said.

He was also encouraged by their ability to win some close games as evidenced by their overtime victory against Pleasant Valley High School, their one-point win against East Stroudsburg South, as well as their first win of the year against Pocono Mountain West. In hindsight, he feels those wins carry even greater significance since both PMW and PV are in the District XI AAAA semifinals.

"I thought they were good wins at the time, and as time goes by, they turned into really good wins for the program," said Repsher.

The Zephs have a full cupboard returning as juniors Karly Klein, Taylor Hamscher, Natalie Saraceni and LeAnna Cruz will provide a strong foundation on which to build. In addition, sophomores Jillian Rex, Ivanna Jones, Taylor George, Ashley Barber and Jillian Kreglow all gained valuable playing time and were major contributors. Freshman Kaylee Cunningham is another returning player who will be an integral part of their mix.

George was the team's leading scorer last year. The point guard averaged 8.4 points this season while running the offense. She also connected on 32 threes to lead the Zephs. Center Barber returns to anchor the post. She averaged 5.8 points this season. Klein is another player coming back, bringing with her a 5.2 ppg average.

Jones and Rex will also be counted on to get the offense in gear. Jones played a number of spots this season, averaging 4.2 ppg, while Rex had a 3.8 average.

Cruz tallied 59 points for a 3.0 average, and Kreglow struck for 50 points.

Repsher said a big challenge ahead is how good the team wants to be. He said that decision lies in their hands, and that the offseason will be critical to get them where they want to go.

"If you don't work at it this summer, you only become a year older," Repsher said.

He said it's important that they're not satisfied with the status quo, and that merely being in the middle of the pack in the Lehigh Valley Conference is not okay.

"I'm not looking at close," said Repsher. "We really made good progress and we need to work at it in the summer. We really came a long way."