The Salisbury girls basketball team did a complete 180-degree turn in 2021.

A year after suffering a winless campaign in the 2019-20 season, the Lady Falcons responded this past winter with a successful showing. It ended with trips to both the Colonial League and District 11 Class 3A tournaments and a 7-8 overall record.

“We got seven wins, which was a 700% improvement over last season,” Falcon head coach Dan Reichenbach said. “Going .500 in the Colonial League and making the league and district playoffs I think was a pretty good improvement. We were only overmatched in a couple of games, and there was only one game that I thought we should have won [that we lost].”

In a compressed season because of COVID-19 - one in which eight teams made the Colonial League playoffs - Salisbury finished as the No. 8 seed and went 5-5 in conference play. The Lady Falcons’ run did come up short to eventual champion Northwestern.

Still, the turnaround was a pleasant sight in Reichenbach’s third year at the helm. And the future continues to look bright with a strong core returning, led by Colonial League Second-Team all-star point guard Quinn Wittman.

“Like I said in the beginning of the season, our goals were simple: be more consistent, play with confidence and win some games,” Reichenbach said. “I think the girls achieved those goals. There were times when we really played good basketball, especially on the defensive end.”

The confidence showed early and often. While Salisbury lost its first two league games against Palmerton (36-34) and Northwestern (43-35), it showed fight and resilience in both of those contests against the two teams that ended up playing in the league final.

Then the Lady Falcons won six of their next eight games to make a playoff push.

“I’m really proud of the improvement this team made, and especially how the girls handled themselves both on and off the court,” Reichenbach said. “They are a hardworking group. They had great attitudes and were very respectful. I received a lot of positive comments from other coaches and referees. They represented Salisbury well.”

Wittman was named the team’s Offensive Most Valuable Player after averaging 15 points, six points and six rebounds per game. She expects to return next year, along with Krista Bonge (7 points, 8 rebounds per game), Hanna Kamp, Katie Seiler and Ava Smarch. Bonge was named the team’s Most Improved Player and recorded a double-double (17 points and 12 rebounds) against Oley Valley.

The Lady Falcons must replace a talented senior class, however, led by Defensive Most Valuable Player Melena Koutch (8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals per game). Sierra Rauch (who missed much of the season with a broken ankle), Krystal Aungst, Arianna Young, Bryn Kubinsky, Rory Watson and Kerry Seiler will also graduate this year.