Whitehall’s girls basketball team scored its first win of the season with a 43-40 overtime victory against Dieruff on Tuesday night at Whitehall.

“I was happy, our first win,” said Whitehall guard Bella Fonzone whose two free throws with 1:00 remaining in OT helped the Zephyrs clinch the win. “It was very stressful. We knew they were going to foul, so I just had the mentality of doing what we practiced, and then when I made them, it was a good push for our team to keep going.”

Whitehall’s subsequent full-court pressure and Charlotte Bynoe’s forced turnover resulted in a foul on MJ Dunbar who sank one free throw for the Zephyrs’ last point of the game.

“We made the pressure foul shots at the end, and we’ll take that,” said Whitehall coach Will Robertson. “The difference to me in tonight’s game was rebounding. We did not rebound well at all, and that kept [Dieruff] in the game. They missed shots, and they got the rebounds, and the post for them (Janiah Staggers) did a great job of getting the ball right back up and in.”

Staggers repeated the process and had 11 points for the Huskies. Teammate Marisa Price scored 15 points.

“Definitely, their speed challenged us,” said Fonzone, who hit a 3-pointer in the second quarter. “They would just push the ball and you wouldn’t even notice. Getting back was our key thing because they would just drive, and you can’t foul.”

Nya Brown led the Zephyrs’ scoring with 13 points, and Kayleigh Fisher opened the fourth quarter with a 3 to spark the offense.

“We needed a jump start...but I told the team, we have to learn how to win,” said Robertson, adding that he wants to see his team settle in and run the offense.

It was Dunbar’s basket on a pass from Fonzone that tied the game 37-37 with 2:22 left in regulation. Fonzone intercepted a pass and was double-teamed, prompting a Whitehall timeout at 1:37.

Dieruff reclaimed possession and kept it for the rest of the game without scoring.

Bynoe’s defensive pressure in overtime forced a jump ball on Dieruff’s inbound play, putting the ball back in Whitehall’s hands.

“That, I thought, was the turning point in the game,” said Robertson. “We started to control the boards a little bit better. She made a nice steal/deflection at the end of the game, she’s long, and I thought that was the big difference for us.”