Throughout the first two weeks of the season, the Salisbury girls' basketball team jumped out to a 4-0 record (3-0 in Colonial League), and looked to be among the conference's top teams.

But since that point, the Falcons (5-5 overall, 3-3 in Colonial League) have endured an unpleasant run that has seen them drop five of their last six games.

More recently, the Falcons have lost their last three games, including conference matchups against Bangor last Saturday and Notre Dame (Green Pond) on December 30.

"I think we played well at times, but we haven't consistently played well to beat the better teams," head coach Joe Mladosich said. "And Fleetwood, Bangor and Notre Dame obviously are some of the better teams, even though I think we should be able to compete with all of those."

Consistency has been an issue for the Falcons for much of the season. And it could be seen in the team's most recent game-a tough 50-40 loss to the Slaters.

In a matchup against one of the Colonial League's top squads, the Falcons raced out to a 16-9 lead after the first quarter, and led by nine points at halftime. But a 20-4 advantage in the third quarter for the Slaters proved to be the deciding factor.

While they have the ability to score and defend well, Mladosich understands his team can't afford to give up a lopsided quarter like the one they endured against Bangor.

"We were up 10 points, and in the second half they outplayed us," Mladosich said. "We didn't respond to the aggressiveness of Bangor, and they took it to us in the second half and beat us."

"I was very pleased with the way we played in the first half. We played very well. But then we have to be consistent."

Looking at the Falcons' 50-46 loss to the Crusaders, three different players scored in double figures, including Meagan Eripret's team-leading 18. Lindsay Bauer scored 14 and Kelly Gonoude finished with 10.

Despite the balanced scoring among the three juniors, Mladosich was unhappy with the way his team performed against the Crusaders.

"We did not play very well at all," Mladosich said of the Notre Dame (Green Pond) game. "They frustrated some of our kids inside, and double and triple-teamed some of our kids. But we need to play through that."

The team's defense started off the season on a high note, allowing 36 points or fewer in their first four games. In their last three contests, the Falcons have given up at least 50 in each game.

"We want to emphasize that if we want to get better, it will probably be through our defense more so than anything," Mladosich said. "We will work on our defense. And that's a lot of effort. We talk to them about effort and rebounding."

While the Falcons have a week consisting of three games (Tuesday against Pen Argyl, Thursday at Northwestern and Saturday at Notre Dame (East Stroudsburg), Mladosich and his team are itching to get back on the court sooner rather than later.

"We had a good practice [Monday], and we talked a little today about what we need to do to get better," Mladosich said. "I think they'll be fine. I think that we have kids that want to compete. We're looking forward to playing [Tuesday against PenArgyl] to get back on track."