When it was crunch time and Mount Carmel Area needed a basket, Kim Andruscavage stepped up and usually sank it.
Throughout her career, the Red Tornadoes went as Andruscavage went, and she rarely let them down.
During her senior season - which culminated with her selection to the Pennsylvania Sports Writers Class AA All-State Third Team, Mount Carmel was perfect in the regular season, won its second straight District 4 title and made it to the quarterfinal round of the PIAA Class AA state playoffs.
She finished with 1,338 career points and the Tornadoes won 77 games during her four seasons.
For her efforts during an outstanding senior season, Andruscavage has been selected as the 2012 Player of the Year on The News-Item All-Area Girls Basketball Team.
Joining her on this year's squad are teammate Ranotta Ahrensfield, as well as Line Mountain's Kasey Long and Mikhail Whitcomb, Lourdes' Christina Perles and Shamokin's Steph Pancher on the first team.
Two more Red Tornadoes highlight the second team in Ali Varano and Heather Bolick, along with Southern Columbia's Kayla Lavella, Lourdes' Nikki Komara and Shamokin's Kelsey Yacko.
Andruscavage didn't just have an uncanny knack for scoring, she truly became a complete player as a senior, grabbing 139 rebounds, making 90 steals and dishing out 80 assists, all career highs.
"Kim really worked hard this offseason," Mount Carmel head coach Lisa Varano said. "She was committed, intense and the leader in practices. She seemed to know this was a year they could make a name for themselves."
That feeling was proven right as the Tornadoes gained respect around the state for their hard-nosed, relentless play, and Andruscavage was the emotional ringleader.
What is hardly ever mentioned is the senior's sheer toughness.
After injuring an ankle during soccer season, Andruscavage missed just two games this hoops season, despite being plagued by soreness. She then injured a shoulder in a game in mid-season, and then in Mount Carmel's opening district game against Lewisburg, she left the court after spraining her ankle again. She came back in that game, scored 11 points and led the Red Tornadoes in scoring through the rest of the playoffs with 97 points.
"She played through everything," Varano said. "She was determined she wasn't going to miss any time.
"If you look at what she did in the playoffs, she averaged more points a game than she did during the regular season. Big players play big in big games."
Toughness and success were two qualities the area had in spades this year. All five area teams qualified for the district playoffs, and four of those for the state tournament in their respective classes. Lourdes and Shamokin joined Mount Carmel as District 4 champions, and a total of 111 games were won by the five teams.
It was a fun year to watch girls' basketball in the area.
A look at the remainder of the All-Area Team:
Kasey Long
Line Mountain, sr.
Long led the area in scoring from the very first weekend. She scored 27 in the Eagles' opening game and not much slowed her down all season as Line Mountain went undefeated in the regular season. She scored 18.6 ppg this season and ended her career with 1,233 points. She also grabbed 216 rebounds despite being just 5-foot, 7-inches, and led the area with 127 steals. She had 68 assists.
Ranotta Ahrensfield
Mount Carmel, sr.
Two things tell you everything you need to know about Ahrensfield. She is 5-foot, 6-inches tall and she pulled down 203 rebounds. That's over three rebounds an inch. The senior scored 13.6 points per game, and wound up with a total of 1,257 points for her career.
As part of Mount Carmel's helter-skelter defense, Ahrensfield came up with 90 steals. She also had 56 assists this year. She scored a career-high 31 points in the Tornadoes' win over Lewisburg, the game during which she scored her 1,000th point.
Mikhail Whitcomb
Line Mountain, sr.
Whitcomb was second in the area in scoring average (16.8 ppg) to her teammate, and in a rare accomplishment, got her 1,000th point in the same game as Long. With quick hands, her 101 steals got the Eagles' offense started, and she made the extra pass as shown with 52 assists. She also led the area by making 70 percent of her foul shots.
The four-year starter totaled 1,210 points, including an area-best 45 3-pointers this year, for her career and more importantly helped to add this year's team to the title banner by capturing the Tri-Valley League crown.
Steph Pancher
Shamokin, sr.
In just her second year as a starter, Pancher guided Shamokin to its first District 4 title in five years, scoring 11.8 ppg. She pulled down 280 rebounds, came up with 62 steals, made 43 blocks and had 25 assists. She was the only player in the area to average a double-double.
Pancher led the area with 151 foul shots attempted and made 57 percent, best on the Shamokin team.
Christina Perles
Lourdes, jr.
With another outstanding campaign, Perles is just 21 points from scoring 1,000 for her career. She averaged 14.6 this year as Lourdes won its fourth-straight district title. The junior pulled down a career-high 172 rebounds and added 39 steals. She shot 66 percent from the foul line.
Perles played in the Red Raiders' PIAA opening-round game with a high-ankle sprain and still led the team with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Second team Heather Bolick
Mount Carmel, sr.
On a team that wanted to run the other team's legs off and force the tempo, Bolick was the glue that kept the Tornadoes' offense together by protecting the ball. She scored when needed as evidenced by her 9.4 point per game average and had a career-high 95 assists. She also chipped in with 76 steals and 70 rebounds.
Kayla Lavella
Southern Columbia, jr.
She ranked third in the area in overall scoring with 15.5 points per game, while also coming in second in 3-pointers with 38. She racked up 99 rebounds, 53 assists and 48 steals.
Nikki Komara
Lourdes, jr.
Komara had her best season to date and paced the Red Raiders' offense with 131 steals and added 6.2 points per game. She rounded out her statistics this season with 116 steals, 81 rebounds and 10 blocked shots.
Kelsey Yacko
Shamokin, jr.
When the going got tough, the Indians turned to Yacko to do a little bit of everything. She averaged 6.1 points, but more importantly racked up 191 rebounds, 54 steals, 33 assists and 26 blocks. In the Indians' opening-round game of the PIAA state playoffs, Yacko was asked to bring the ball up the court because of injuries.
Ali Varano
Mount Carmel, so.
Varano turned heads with her hustle and aggressiveness, both of which usually jump started the Tornadoes' attack. She showed what she was capable of with a 13.0 point per game average and came in second in steals in the area with 125. She also pulled down 155 rebounds and made 94 assists.