After reeling off a few wins to begin the season, the Whitehall girls basketball team now finds themselves battling back from two consecutive losses.

The Zephs have won three of their first four games to start the season. It took them 10 games to win that same number last year. They've shown steady improvement, witnessed by last week's 53-35 victory of East Stroudsburg North High School for their third consecutive victory, setting up Friday's game against Allentown Central Catholic High School.

The Vikettes (6-0, 2-0 Eastern Pennsylvania Conference) proved to a formidable foe, defeating Whitehall 49-23 last Friday at Rockne Hall. Head coach Dwight Repsher said that last season ACC torched them inside. To combat their superior size inside, he installed a game plan that he hoped would neutralize their height advantage. It worked.

However, this time the Vikettes struck from the perimeter as senior guards Alyssa Mack and Olivia Roseman scored a combined 30 points to pave the way for the league win. Repsher said their defensive inconsistency also contributed to the loss. They weren't able to get to their shooters in time to contest shots, which led to four treys from the Vikettes, three of them dropped by Mack.

"We didn't recover out and get to their kids in time," said Repsher. "They just made shots from out there."

Additionally, Whitehall only had five players find the scoring column, down from their average of close to seven players finding their way onto the tally sheet over the previous four games.

Leading the way for Whitehall was LeAnna Cruz who knocked down 10 points, while Ivanna Jones added six. While they didn't play their best game, Repsher realizes they're going to bumps in the road, especially when they battle some of the more experienced teams in the Skyline Division of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

"Hats off to Central, they're good," said Repsher.

Their next game was against Pocono Mountain East High School the following day, and this time their opponent's speed and athleticism proved to be their Achilles heel, losing 43-31 to the Cardinals. Repsher said that PME had two athletic guards who could collapse on shooters just as they were getting ready to shot what they thought was an open shot. It plagued them the entire game.

"We had trouble with their ability to close," said Repsher.

He said they were able to handle the press, but once they found an open man, the Cardinals quickly negated many opportunities for clean looks. They were able to get the ball where they wanted, but the Cardinals athleticism took any advantage away in their offensive game plan.

"It wasn't that we didn't execute things, they were just much quicker than anyone we played," said Repsher.

Once again Cruz led the way finishing with 10 points. Taylor George chipped in with eight, while Karly Klein added six and Jill Rex finished with four. The Zephs next face Nazareth High School, a team that swept the season series last year. Repsher said that the team has prepared for what the Blue Eagles like to do and looks forward to the challenge.

"I think we're ready to go," he said.

While he wasn't hoping for 3-3 to start the season, he said its still a far cry from the 0-6 beginning that hounded them last year.