Salisbury girls basketball head coach Dan Reichenbach believes his team is better than its 1-4 record shows. And the Lady Falcons might just be proving him right.

After a winless season last year, Salisbury found its way back into the win column recently. The Lady Falcons came back to down Northern Lehigh on Friday, 37-30, for their first win in over a year.

“The win against Northern Lehigh I believe will be a big confidence boost,” Reichenbach said. “The girls know they are a better team than our record, and it was great to see them finally get a well-deserved win.”

The win didn’t come easily. Salisbury managed to score just two points in the opening quarter and trailed 18-14 at halftime.

The Lady Falcons clawed back and held Northern Lehigh to just 12 points in the second half, six in each of the third and fourth quarters.

Quinn Wittman scored 10 of her team-high 18 points in that second half. She also finished with four rebounds, four steals and three assists.

“I figured we would struggle a bit after having played three games in four days, and coming off emotional losses to Palmerton and Northwestern,” Reichenbach said. “We were also missing some key players [against Northern Lehigh] - Arianna Young and Sierra Rauch - who were injured in the previous two games.

“I challenged the girls at halftime and they responded. They really wanted to win and believed they would. Quinn really put us on her shoulders and willed us to a win.”

Krista Bonge also had a big game against the Bulldogs, scoring six points and grabbing a team-high nine rebounds.

While Salisbury’s first win came in it’s most recent game, it had been playing well all season thus far. The Lady Falcons took two of the better teams in the Colonial League down to the wire, nearly pulling off victories against Northwestern and Palmerton.

The loss to Northwestern, which came a day before the win over Northern Lehigh, was a close 43-35 setback. Salisbury had a chance to win that game late with a chance at handing the Tigers (7-0) their first loss of the winter. And against Palmerton, it was a two-point loss after falling to the Blue Bombers twice in 2020 and both were double-digit margins.

“The girls have been working hard at practice and more importantly have great attitudes,” Reichenbach said. “It is showing on the court. Last year we lost to Palmerton by 23 and 32, and lost to Northwestern by 37 and 44. We had a chance to win both games this year. They are really improving every game, and are a tough defensive team.

“The biggest difference is the experience they gained last year, how hard they are working this year, and most importantly the great attitudes that they have. I believe they feel they can really compete with any team.”

Another big difference in the early-season competitiveness is the return of Melena Koutch, who missed last season with an injury. She provides another scoring threat for Reichenbach, but more importantly plays a key role on defense.

“Getting Melena back is a huge plus,” Reichenbach said. “She brings athleticism and another scoring threat to the team. I also have been depending on her and Krystal [Aungst] to guard the other teams’ best players. Both have been doing an exceptional job.”

The Lady Falcons will hit the midway point of their league schedule this week with two more Colonial League games. Tuesday’s results against Pen Argyl were not available at time of press. Salisbury travels to Wilson on Thursday for a 6:45 p.m. tipoff.