Going up against perennial power Central Catholic, Emmaus wanted to make a statement about how good they are. As it turned out, they didn't get the big statement they were looking for, but they made a statement, nonetheless.

After leading for much of the game and trailing by just four after three quarters, Emmaus played the Vikettes much tougher than the final score of 43-28 would indicate. The loss puts Emmaus at 2-3 overall and 2-2 in the Lehigh Valley Conference.

"This is a good team [Central Catholic]. We played on their floor and I don't want to hear anybody say ever again that they came out flat," Emmaus coach Billy Dunn said. "We played good defense, period, and that's what we have to do to win basketball games."

The team's defense and rebounding have come a long way from the start of the season and could be a key for the team over the rest of the year. Young players like Mandy McCarthy, Mariah Palko and Maraya Bowen are continuing to develop and are gaining more confidence and aggressiveness on both ends of the court.

"Last year, Mariah Palko didn't even start JV, Mandy started JV, but didn't play varsity. This time last year, Drea Watkins and Maraya were both still JV and Beth [Wiseley] was our only varsity player of the starting five," said Dunn.

Earlier in the week, McCarthy and Bowen each scored 11 points in the Hornets' 49-35 win over Dieruff. McCarthy's performance equaled her career-high, which she also set against Easton earlier this season.

Senior Anna Baer came off the bench to lead the Lady Hornets with eight points. Dunn believes that Baer is stepping up to the challenge of being a team leader even though she's not in the starting lineup.

"I thought she did a really good job. She found herself in some spots where she could make positive contributions," said Dunn.

Baer has helped the team by doing the basics of chipping in with some offense and playing well defensively. Her presence around the basket both offensively and defensively is becoming a bigger part of the team's attack.

"We showed that we have so much potential and that we can win these games," Baer said after the Central Catholic loss. "We hung with them for three quarters and it's disappointing that the score doesn't reflect how hard we worked, but we get them again at the end of the season at home and it's senior night, so hopefully, we'll get that one."

Next week, the Lady Hornets head into the Southern Lehigh Holiday Tournament as defending champions and are looking to repeat. The tournament opens what Dunn thinks is going to be a telling part of the season for his team as it looks to go on a run and establish itself as one of the better teams in the LVC.

"We don't want to take a step backward," said Dunn of his team heading into the tournament. "We cannot take a step back; we can't afford to. And you know what? In two weeks, we'll know a lot about this team. We're either going to take a step forward or not."