With the graduation of Kam Watkins (6.7 points per game), Sarah Hoch (5.9 PPG) and Grace Oglesbee (5.2 PPG), the Emmaus High School girls basketball team lost some offense from last season.

If the early-going is any indication though, the Hornets have found some other options for points. The Lady Hornets have opened the year 2-0 and have put a total of 84 points on the board in their two wins, besting their average of 37 points per game last season.

This year’s edition of Emmaus basketball has just three seniors – Paige Inman, Casey Bender, and Kaitlyn Dill - on the roster, with Bender and Dill being newcomers to the varsity team. After averaging just under seven points per game last season, Inman has dropped in 9.5 points per game in the early going to play a part in the Emmaus offense.

A name to remember is that of freshman Gabrielle De Vita, who has averaged 15 points in two games, dropping in 16 against Southern Lehigh and then following through with 14 against Wilson West Lawn.

In addition to the seniors adding more offense and having a freshman with a hot hand, Emmaus also has junior Taylor Griffith, who has averaged 9.5 pints per game this season, nearly doubling her average from last season.

All this is exciting news for a team that has relied on defense and still looks to make defense its calling card in the 2022-2023 season. Coach Kelsey Gallagher has instilled a defense first attitude in her five seasons with Emmaus and that’s not about to change now. Emmaus held Wilson West Lawn to just 21 points and kept a solid Southern Lehigh team to 44 points in its two wins this season.

The Hornets finished their East Penn Conference schedule with an 8-8 record last season and ended the year with a 12-12 overall mark, playing in both the EPC and District 11 tournaments. Emmaus lost to an Easton team that went on to have their best season, going deep into the PIAA tournament. A hot Nazareth team downed Emmaus in the district quarterfinals.

In their season opener, Emmaus downed Southern Lehigh behind De Vita’s 16 points with In-man contributing eight and Griffith six. Against the Lady Bulldogs, it was the De Vita and Griffith show as the freshman finished with 14 just ahead of the 13 from Griffith in the 38-21 win.

The Hornets open their EPC schedule Friday night when they host Dieruff for their first home game of the season. After that, Emmaus has three road games, two of them in the EPC, featuring games at Whitehall (0-0 EPC, 0-1 overall) and East Stroudsburg South (0-0, 1-1).