Anna and Sally Baer are just close enough in age that they can enjoy one season together on the Emmaus varsity basketball team. Anna Baer is a senior and one of the leaders on the team, while Sally is playing with the team as a freshman and getting valuable experience on the court, with the added input of a big sister who has been through it all before.

"Sometimes it's tough, because you don't want to hear it," said Sally Baer of the input that she gets from her older sister. "But it helps me to improve and I know she has me in her best interest, so it helps a lot."

The two are the youngest in the family and share a room, so it's probably a good thing that they are so close. Growing up, both played soccer, softball and field hockey among other endeavors, but both have made the decision to focus on playing basketball in high school.

"We're thrilled that they're in the program and that they're working hard," said coach Billy Dunn. "We knew about Sally, obviously, and she played with us in the summer and came out and deserved to make the varsity team and she's playing JV as well."

Dunn pointed out that the two work to drive each other and he noticed right away that they always have each other's back. That comes across quickly when you talk to either of them and they readily admit that they're always there for each other.

"I always look out for her, because she's younger," said Anna.

One thing that the younger of the sisters is learning from her big sister is how to be a good teammate and grow into a team leader.

"She's very much of a leader for the team," said Sally of her big sister. "She's always been there for the team, like when she broke her hand, she was always on the bench and always cheering. She's always very supportive of everyone."

Next season, Anna will give up basketball when she attends college and Sally will likely start seeing increased playing time. Before long though, it's going to be Sally's turn to choose a college and it won't be surprising if she winds up wherever big sis decides to go.

"We'll have to see, I guess it depends on where she goes," said Sally. As she was saying that though, her big sister was shaking her head yes, already anticipating having her younger sister with her for her final year of college just as she does for high school.

On the court, Emmaus picked up two nice wins this past week, downing Wilson 58-32 and Whitehall 40-27 after starting the week with a loss to Nazareth. The two wins improved the team's record to 5-6 overall and 2-4 in the LVC. Beth Wiseley had another big week, averaging 15 points per game, while Maraya Bowen chipped in with 14 against Wilson and Mandy McCarthy had 10 against Whitehall.

"What I liked about our win tonight is that our girls played in such a way that they allowed us to use our full arsenal," said Dunn after beating Whitehall. "We had them frustrated with our man-to-man defense and they called timeout and we were able to come out and go two-three, when they had just chalked up man-to-man. When our girls play that well, we're unable to leash every element of our game."

Dunn saw some good things in the two wins and believes they will serve to show his players what they need to do to win and help give a much needed confidence boost.

"We needed these wins," said Dunn. "After seven out of eight on the road and Drea getting hurt and a lot of crazy things, we've had to come through some adversity."