Say what you will about Line Mountain's run into the state playoffs this year, the Eagles have stayed true to themselves.
Throughout the season, in games big and small, the Eagles have kept to their usual m.o. - run, force the other team into mistakes and occasionally make a few themselves.
It won't be surprising for Line Mountain to come out and do the same exact thing against Steel-Hi in the PIAA Class A quarterfinals, 2 p.m. Saturday at Martz Hall.
That philosophy has taken the Eagles farther than anyone might have thought before the season started, but on Wednesday, it nearly had the opportunity to bite them in the tail feathers.
Up by 17 points late in the game with Girard College, Line Mountain continued to look for the first available shot on offense and keep up the defensive pressure, picking up a couple fouls that didn't help in the quest to run time off the clock.
The late-game mistakes helped swell an already bloated turnover line for both teams - Line Mountain forced 37 turnovers, and committed 30.
One colleague, who hadn't seen the Eagles play this year, was beside himself that they weren't running a stalled half court set to kill the clock.
Those of us who had seen the Eagles, both good and bad, could only laugh.
Why change what's working?
"We had to keep the tempo of the game up," junior guard Mikhail Whitcomb explained after the game. "We had heard that they were a fast team and that they like to press."
A long time coming
Whitcomb, who scored 27 points, also added a valuable post-game assist.
When head coach Mike Reed was groping for an answer to when the Eagles had last experienced this kind of postseason run, Whitcomb chimed in.
"It was 1996," she answered
while sitting Indian style on the floor and waiting for reporters.
Reed looked down and asked, "Are you a history buff now?"
Without blinking an eye, she answered, "It's on the banner."
That the Eagles need a banner to remind anyone of their last trip this far in the playoffs means it's been a long time. That the girls have taken note of that banner and have at least matched that success means something else.
"We just want to keep winning," Whitcomb said. "I don't think there's any pressure. We want to have fun and enjoy the experience."