Catasauqua’s girls basketball team earned its second win of the season under new head Rough Riders coach Tara Belfield with a 45-30 victory over Saucon Valley on Dec. 11 at Catasauqua.

Saucon Valley stayed within reach of what could have been a closer game, but Catty’s defense, along with a handful of 6-0 runs, kept the Panthers at arm’s length.

“In the beginning of the game, we kind of struggled on getting boards, so during halftime we got together collectively and discussed what we had to do better on defense, and I think we did way better in the second half,” said Catasauqua guard Hailey Jenkins (24 points). “There were still times where they got a couple second-chance shots, but we were focusing on defense and relaxing on offense.”

Catty center Kaylin Stewart (13 points) provided height underneath, and guard Sarina Sankari was scrappy on steals that led to buckets for the Rough Riders.

“That’s the one thing we work on most in practice is we know we’re not going to be as big as most teams, so we need to be quicker than most teams,” said Coach Belfield. “We need to be able to run the floor and get up and down the court and beat them up and down.”

Jenkins made the most of those opportunities in the third quarter, converting a layup off a steal when Saucon forward Maggie Gorman (12 points) got tripped up on the ground, and intercepting a Panther pass for another bucket.

Catty guard Shakala Roberts followed up with her second 3-pointer of the game, and forward Jessica Mankos added two more points for the Rough Riders.

All of Catasauqua’s starters with the exception of Jenkins are freshmen.

“That is absolutely the number one reason I took the job because I knew that the future here is going to be amazing,” Coach Belfield said. “We have a leader like Hailey Jenkins. Hailey is not only the best athlete, but she is also an amazing leader, so when you have her leading your team, it’s OK not to have so many upperclassmen because she’s doing a great job leading the freshmen right now.”

As the team’s leader, Jenkins said she definitely feels supported by the other players.

“On the offensive end, I have a bunch of girls that know the game,” she said. “Obviously, we’re all still learning as a team, but for where they are now, freshmen playing on varsity, they’re at a great spot. It’s different because now they’re coming to me, asking me what they should be doing, but it’s a good feeling because I know that they trust me to tell them the right things.”