The Whitehall girls basketball team stopped history in its tracks.

When Bethlehem Catholic entered their gym last Friday night, they were on the verge of establishing a new record for consecutive wins. They had won 58 consecutive conference games, tying Allentown Central Catholic’s mark. A win on Coach Tracy Court and the record would be theirs.

But instead of passing the mark, Whitehall foiled their streak with a little passing of their own as they put on a superb display of interior passing and rebounding, led by Jill Kreglow and Ivanna Jones who helped erase an early third quarter lead by Bethlehem Catholic which set the stage for the eventual 44-36 win.

Jones had a stretch of three consecutive big plays in that decisive third quarter. The first was a defensive rebound that prevented the Golden Hawks from padding their one-point lead midway through the period.

The next trip down the floor, the senior grabbed an offensive board and went straight up with a shot, converting the bucket for a 26-25 lead, their first since going up 16-14 early in the second quarter.

That was followed by a block on the defensive end which ultimately led to Kreglow’s feeding frenzy (one of her seven assists) as she found Arianna Hines for the bucket to extend their lead to three. The lead was further padded when Kylee Cunningham found Kreglow for a jumper, capping a 9-0 run to put the Zephs in the driver’s seat heading into the final period.

From that point, the Zephyrs kept the Golden Hawks at arms length despite some inefficiency at the foul line down the stretch.

Jones, who finished with eight points, made an impact on the boards throughout the game. She was also challenging shots, and her presence inside was a big factor in helping the Zephs end the streak.

“It was really exciting,” said Jones. “We knew coming into the game that they [Bethlehem Catholic] had a 58-game winning streak, and that was a little bit more motivation. We ended that, and I’m very happy about that.”

And once Jones came off the bench after her third foul in that third quarter, she said she “was ready to play.”

She made an immediate impact once she stepped onto the floor as she was the driving force in helping the Zephs forge ahead.

“When I got in, I got my chances and grabbed some of those rebounds, and was ready to go,” said Jones.

Jones helped fuel a run that also saw a baseline three-pointer from Taylor Rummel who finished with six points. Rummel was one of seven Zephyrs to score, with Taylor George leading the team with 11 points.

The win, the Zephs ninth of the season, was a seminal moment for the program. It marks the first time that Whitehall has beaten Bethlehem Catholic in 11 years. Head coach Dwight Repsher said that this roster has only experienced losing to the Golden Hawks, often times by lopsided margins, and a win against a perennial state title contender is something they’ll remember for a long time.

“It’s a signature win for us,” said Repsher. “We beat Nazareth [last] Tuesday night, and we beat Becahi tonight, and that would have been Becahi’s 59th win, and that was really big for these kids.”

As the third quarter unfolded, Repsher saw just how proficient they could move the ball and how that fundamental skill could spark an offense.

“I thought our interior passing in the third quarter was outstanding,” said Repsher.

Kreglow was basically putting on a clinic in how to find the open man, and that led to 14 points.

The one thing that troubled Repsher was their inability to ice the game at the line down the stretch. With Becahi fouling on every possession with about two minutes left, the Zephs kept a crack in the door for the Golden Hawks, and that was dangerous considering they had Jordynn Jones who could either attack the rim of spot up for a three. Jones led all scorers with 19 points.

The Zephs finished 10 of 20 from the line, well below their season average.

Still, they held on for the win, as Alix Buskirk sank two of her four attempts in the waning moments to salt it away for Whitehall.

“It was a great win,” said Repsher. “Everybody played a role and everybody did their job.”

Jones knows they can’t relax and must build off this big win. They experienced a bit of a letdown after the Nazareth win, losing to Northampton, a game in which they weren’t themselves, according to Jones.

“We definitely need to keep the intensity up on defense,” said Jones. “We also need to keep active on offense and pass like we did tonight.”