The Whitehall girls basketball team bounded into the holiday break with a divisional win that ended a three-year drought against the visiting Blue Eagles.

The last time these two teams met was in the district playoffs when the Blue Eagles handed the Zephs a 35-24 loss. Additionally, Nazareth swept the season series last year, extending their winning streak that dated back to 2012.

This time, though, the Zephyrs won 37-24, giving themselves a well-earned present heading into Christmas as their defense held the Eagles to just 11 second-half points.

“That was a nice win,” said head coach Dwight Repsher. “We’ll take that.”

It was the signature win for the program, something they’ve been talking about since the preseason as they look to rewrite recent history against their divisional opponents.

That win represented everything they’ve been working toward, combining a stifling defense with some opportunistic offense.

“I liked everything about it,” said Repsher. “I liked our concentration. “I liked our determination. I liked our intensity.”

Repsher said the key to the win was how they approached the game. He said much of Nazareth’s offense is predicated on their defense, and when Whitehall was able to beat their pressure, the Blue Eagles slowly became dejected.

“When their pressure didn’t get to us, it’s almost like saying, ‘well, what do we do now,’” said Repsher. “The more frustrated they got, the more they stood around.”

He said they beat their 1-3-1 defense by placing a player below, even with, and above the trap, and then rotating the ball back to the middle where Taylor George was then isolated with one of their bigger players who couldn’t defend the senior guard off the dribble.

George led the Zephyrs with 12 points. Ivanna Jones chipped in with 10, while Jillian Kreglow poured in seven and Jill Rex added four.

History may have played into the victory as well. With Nazareth having such a stranglehold on the series, he said the players were most likely determined to change the narrative and put Whitehall back in the driver’s seat. Repsher said that last year they played the Eagles well defensively, something that carried over to this season, but combined that strong defense with some solid offense.

The win bumps up their record to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

The Zephs started fast out of the gate, taking a 9-1 lead to open the game. But the Blue Eagles slowly crept back into the game after that initial run, closing the gap to 11-9 and prompting Repsher to wonder if they missed their opportunity.

However, when they held the Eagles scoreless in the third he knew that they absolutely made the most of that opportunity.

“That was pretty surprising,” said Repsher.

Their follow-up game didn’t receive such glowing reviews from the head coach. The Zephyrs traveled to Pottsville for the Gatorade Classic on Dec. 26. The Zephyrs lost 60-59 in overtime, squandering a seven-point lead with just two minutes to go in the extra session, thus putting them into the consolation game against William Allen.

Repsher said they were up three at halftime and then fell behind, but tied it at the end of regulation to send it into overtime.

Repsher said that defensive lapses led to their unraveling at the end of the overtime as the Crimson Tide got the game-winner when Sadie Cresswell hit a trey with 44 seconds left. Whitehall had a shot at the end to win, but both their opportunities didn’t fall.

“We did everything you could do wrong,” said Repsher.

The girls rebounded in the consolation game, defeating William Allen 49-43 to earn third place. Kreglow paced the Zephs with 13 points, while George added 10, and Jones and Alix Buskirk each had nine.