Lancaster Mennonite's Katie Andrews is averaging 5.6 points per game but may be more known as one of the keys to the Blazers' defensive effort.
Out-of-sync. Timid. Out of character. Even confusing.
All were words that came up as Lancaster Mennonite girls' basketball coach Sherri Gorman stood by the locker room in Hershey's Giant Center last Thursday evening, discussing her team's 38-30 loss to York Catholic in the District Three Class AA title game with a flock of reporters.
But, in the end, who knows? Maybe the real answer could simply be attributed to "too much of a good thing" — which, in this case, was basketball.
"We took off Friday, Saturday and Sunday (from practicing)," Gorman said Wednesday night. "It's one of those things where the season is winding down and we'd been practicing six days a week for a long time now.
"(The break) gave us a chance to get away from basketball for a while and clear our heads."
With its collective battery recharged, District Three runner-up Lancaster Mennonite (22-5) returns to the grind Friday at 5 p.m. at Lebanon High School, where it will face District 12 third-place finisher George Washington Carver Engineering and Science (20-3) in the first round of the PIAA Class AA playoffs.
Saturday, Manheim Central (17-11), which finished sixth after working its way through the District Three consolation bracket, will meet District Six champ Forest Hills (18-6) for a 4:30 p.m. tip at Central Cambria High School in Ebensburg.
That Mennonite and Central are the only representatives from the L-L League in the PIAA bracket is unordinary for these parts.
In fact, the last time L-L League/Lancaster County teams were so thinly represented in states was 2005, when only Hempfield, McCaskey and Lancaster Catholic qualified for the big dance.
Not that Gorman feels any added pressure to carry the L-L torch this time around.
"It's always an honor to do that," Gorman said of representing the league in states. "But that said, at this time of year, you're scrambling around to get information on teams and you really have to hone in on what you're doing."
After all, Gorman knows she and her players have a lot with which to concern themselves at this point.
For starters, there's rebounding from last Thursday, when the Blazers' suddenly-out-of-rhythm offense scored a season-low 30 points against York Catholic.
And, of course, there's a talented, athletic Carver team, which plays with the free-flowing swagger you might expect from an inner-city Philadelphia squad.
Gorman got a glimpse of that Tuesday night, when she traveled to Philadelphia to watch Carver dismantle St. Pius X, 62-44, in the PIAA play-in round.
Still, Gorman said, if the Blazers "do what we do best" — which is get out in transition, win the battle of the boards and limit turnovers — she's confident her team matches up.
"They have some advantages in some places, and we have some advantages in some places," Gorman said.
One key advantage for Mennonite could be its stifling defense, which has held opponents under 30 points in 16 of the Blazers' 27 games this season.
Mennonite will likely need a similar effort against a Carver attack fronted by 5-foot-8 point guard Brittany Hrynko, 5-8 guard Monique Wahley-Briggs and 5-10 forward Yolanna Snypes.
Hrynko, a slasher who can also shoot the 3-pointer, scored 28 against St. Pius X Tuesday and is averaging 28.4 in the Lady Engineers' last five games.
Mennonite, meanwhile, will try to re-establish 5-foot-11 senior forward Erin LaVenice in the middle. LaVenice, a rebounding and shot-blocking force who is averaging a team-best 12.7 ppg, was held to six against York Catholic in the district final.
The Blazers are powered on the perimeter by sisters Steph (12.1 ppg) and Jess (9.7) Rheinheimer.
Manheim Central vs. Forest Hills: The key for the Barons will most likely be limiting the production of senior guard/forward Teddi Burkett (10.7 ppg), sophomore forward Beck Bard (11.5) and freshman guard Casey Gallaher (10.4) — a trio that powers a Forest Hills team that won its first district title in program history this winter and is making its first PIAA playoff appearance.
Central is powered offensively by senior forwards Carly Leitzel (12.2) and Rachelle Wiegand (9.2) and sophomore forward Renee Wiegand (8.9).