It's customary to ring in the New Year with lots of noisemakers, and the Whitehall girls basketball team did just that, much to the surprise of everyone in the gym, when they hosted Northampton last week.

That happened late in the third quarter when the fire alarm suddenly sounded, briefly halting the game on Jan. 2. At that point Whitehall was leading 26-17, and it could be argued that the Zephs were on fire throughout the game, prompting the need for the alarm.

In fact, the Zephyrs led from the opening tip-off when LeAnna Cruz raced down the court for a lay-up. They continued pouring in the points, using a combination of inside and outside scoring to handily beat the K-Kids 41-22.

The win marked the first Skyline Division victory for the Zephyrs who are now 5-5 on the year. It was also just their second home game this season, and after a long ride to the Gatorade Winter Classic in Pottsville, Pa., it was a welcome change of scenery where they could savor some home cooking.

"It's a really big win for us, it's our first division win," said senior Karly Klein who finished with eight points. "It's really big for us because we've been playing out of town lately."

Klein was part of a balanced attack that saw each starter score in the opening quarter. Whether it was Ivanna Jones hitting a baseline jumper, or Jill Rex connecting from the top of the circle, the Zephs were able to find the open man throughout the game.

"We played as a team really well," said Klein. "It wasn't just one person, everyone was contributing to the win someway, somehow, whether it was rebounding or shooting."

Klein, who plays in the frontcourt, had to deal with Northampton's Aja Blount who is bigger than any Zephyr interior player. At one point the score was Whitehall 6, Blount 6, as she scored every one of the Kids points to start the game.

"We've always been a small team, so we have to think bigger than we actually are," said Klein. "I think our tallest player is 5-10 and we're used to playing against girls who are six foot. We have to think bigger and to play smart."

Klein said when opposing teams have a taller player, the strategy is often to lob the ball to that player in an effort to exploit the mismatch.

Part of playing smart also involved doubling down on Blount when she got the ball in the post. It led to a number of jump balls and steals when she tried to put the ball on the floor.

"With kids like that, that usually lob it in against us, we have to play on either side and front them or play behind them, and then our guards come in and double down," said Klein. "That's when our guards can get their hands in and get jump balls and create turnovers."

Klein wasn't afraid to attack the basket, going right at Blount. She said wasn't trying to get the center in foul trouble, but noted they had to be assertive.

Head coach Dwight Repsher said the game had some added incentive.

"The loss over there with forty-two seconds left last year at the end of the year was clearly remembered by everybody," said Repsher.

Repsher said the team played well from the outset, getting contributions from their entire line-up.

"This is one everybody wanted," said Repsher. "I thought we played together, I thought we played well, supporting one another."

Repsher also acknowledged the challenge of playing a player like Blount. He said he prefers playing behind someone like that and then force them to make a shot. Once the player makes a move, they double down and look to create a turnover, which was the case quite frequently against Blount.

"We did a nice job with that," said Repsher.

Jill Kreglow was able to pull in some rebounds, helping the Zephs counter their height disadvantage, while Taylor George was once again effective from the perimeter, leading the way with 11 points.

Cruz was also hot the entire game, draining buckets from all over the floor. She hit a trey to end the third quarter, finishing with 10 points to help the Zephs get to .500.

The Zephs closed out 2014 at the Pottsville tourney. They lost in the semifinals to Minersville 47-28, but rebounded to knock off William Allen 47-44.

Klein said it took awhile to adjust to the trip, then found themselves playing a talented Minersville team from the Schuylkill League.

"It's a team we've never seen before, and we never got going in that game," she said.