Lenny Groft has been there. He's dealt with the preseason "on paper" expectations.

"When we won the (Lancaster-Lebanon League title) in 2004-05 … if we didn't win it that year, I think it would have been a big disappointment on our part," Hempfield's girls' basketball coach said, referring to a star-studded team that consisted of Phylicia Bessick, Casey Bachman, Ashley Brooks, Laura Vogel and Kate Walck.

"I was saying recently that L-S is probably in the same situation this year."

Granted, returning a highly-experienced, balanced starting lineup that includes senior guards Lisa Boyer, Danielle Rittenhouse and Katie Lynch, senior center Renee Fritz and sophomore guard Kelsey Souders, it seems hard to find a better fit for the preseason bull's-eye than Lampeter-Strasburg when the 2008-09 season kicks off Friday.

Especially considering the Pioneers also return most of their bench players from a team that advanced to the District Three Class AAA semifinals last year, before making the second PIAA Tournament appearance in their program's history.

Not that L-S's players, for better or worse, are exactly viewing it that way.

Truth is, while collecting a bunch of hardware come March would be nice, the Pioneers' senior-laden group — at this point, anyway — seems more interested in the opportunity.

The opportunity to play together one last time.

"Ever since our sophomore year, we always thought we were the underdogs," said Lynch, who has been playing with the majority of her teammates since youth ball. "There was no pressure on us. And that's what's great about our coach, he doesn't put pressure on us.

"We have a really solid team," Lynch acknowledged, "but we just want to go as far as we can … leave it all out there, because this is our (the seniors') last time playing together."

While L-S's players haven't dwelled on it, underlying incentive could stem from the fact that the Pioneers haven't accomplished much in the form of championships since bursting onto the scene two years ago.

They did manage to wrap up their first Section Three title since 1977 last winter, but followed that with a first-round exit in the L-L playoffs and a 33-point District Three semifinal loss to Lancaster Mennonite, before bowing out in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA playoffs.

But with the return of Boyer (12.6 ppg in 2007-08), Rittenhouse (10.6), Fritz (10.1), Lynch (9.3) and Souders (7.3) — a quintent that averaged a combined 39.9 points per game a year ago — the Pioneers certainly appear to have the firepower to make amends.

If they can ignore the hype.

"Looking at districts and states and stuff is great," Rittenhouse said. "But we have to keep doing the little things to get there."

Something L-S coach Matt Wieand has been working on diligently.

"On paper, with everybody back, we should be one of the better teams," Wieand acknowledged. "But still, what we're trying to sell to the girls is that games are won in practice and on the court. They've worked hard to earn that recognition (as the favorite), but a lot of teams get caught up in that, and we're trying to use it as a motivator."

Meanwhile, getting a shot at L-S could also be a motivator for the other 23 teams in a league that appears wide open.

Sure, Lancaster Mennonite returns to the powerful inside-outside combination of Katelyn Vanderhoff and Erin LaVenice from last year's District Three Class AAA title team, but the Blazers have to find pieces to support that duo.

Sure, tradition says that Cedar Crest and defending L-L champ Hempfield — both of which graduated a ton of key players — might find themselves back in the thick of a heated Section One race that, this time, could also involve Warwick, Manheim Township and Penn Manor.

And sure, despite what coach Lamar Kauffman calls a rebuilding year, Lancaster Catholic usually finds a way to get back in the mix.

Question is, can any of them get to L-S?

Hard to imagine at this point. On paper, anyway.

E-mail: jfulginiti@lnpnews.com