The Whitehall girls basketball season began as it has for the last two years, facing Northwestern Lehigh in the opener, but this season the Zephs were able to end the Tigers dominance with a convincing 45-31 win.

In the prior two openers, the Tigers won by double digits, but after an opening three-pointer by Northwestern, Whitehall scored the next four points to go up by one, a lead they would never relinquish as they used their speed and quickness to get after the Tigers, forcing a number of turnovers that led to some breakaway points that paved the way to victory.

One of those early buckets was on a fast break by guard Taylor George. George made it a habit of dashing down the court and scoring in transition, leading all scorers with 18 points.

Her ability to disrupt their opposing guards with her relentless defense, as well as get into the passing lanes for some steals, demonstrated her basketball savvy, something she’s accumulated since starting in her freshman season.

“Just being a senior and playing varsity throughout the years, I’ve experienced it all, so I really want to set the tone,” said George. “I really want to set a good example for my team and give everyone some confidence and let them know that we are a good team. I also know that my role on this team is to set the tone and that’s just what I look to do.”

George says that it raises the bar if she’s giving her all, letting her play become the loudest voice in establishing that tone.

The senior also scored the first two baskets to start the second half, reigniting an offense that had stalled a bit in the second quarter. Her two buckets were part of a 14-4 run for the Zephs, who took a commanding 32-15 lead late in the third quarter.

Even when the Tigers trimmed the lead to 10 points with 4:46 remaining in the game, the Zephs answered with consecutive buckets by Ivanna Jones to push the lead back to 14.

Their two senior co-captains made sure that this year wasn’t going to be a repeat.

In fact, the entire line-up was busy putting their collective stamp on the game with Jill Rex, Jill Kreglow, Alix Buskirk, Arianna Hines, Kylee Cunningham and Taylor Rummel, all contributing.

“It’s a really good feeling,” said George, acknowledging the Tigers previous domination in the series. “Just to know that we came out and dominated and got the win, I really think that’s going to give our team confidence.

“We have a lot of young players who are playing with us, so it just definitely gives us confidence and really sets the tone for the rest of the season.”

Head coach Dwight Repsher said they played hard and made shots, but at the same time channeled his inner taskmaster and said they still had a lot to work on.

“But it was a good win,” he said.

The game featured some good interior passing by Jones, who fed Kreglow for an easy bucket at one point. Jones had a number of assists from the post.

They also forced a slew of turnovers with their defensive pressure. Whether it was by trapping the ball or intercepting passes, they kept the Tigers from getting into any offensive flow for most of the game. It was the kind of play that will pay dividends throughout the season.

“We’re getting the idea,” said Repsher. “If we get good at that, we can be pretty good.”

Repsher said for an opener, they did as well as well as he could expect.

“We ran things, we saw people, we made some really nice passes, and got everybody involved,” said Repsher. “That’s what we need, to have some balance.”

George believed that finishing second at the Stellar Tournament in the summer has laid the groundwork for this season.

“It’s a big deal, we don’t get very far in those tournaments,” said George. “Just making it to the championship when we had five games on Sunday…it definitely showed confidence and that we have a really good team.”

The girls stayed unbeaten with a 42-16 win over Pocono Mountain East on Tuesday.

In that game, Jones led the way with 10 points, while Rummel added eight and George finished with seven.