FOUNTAIN SPRINGS - North Schuylkill's offense is fast.
Very fast.
Whether a scoring play stems from one of the guards calling out a play - typically a number - or from one of the darting steals atop the opponent's arc, it's not long after until the ball finds the basket.
"Right now, with our experience and our skill level, we're clicking early in the season, which is nice to see," Spartans coach John Rizzo said. "We want to push the ball up court. We want to get the ball to our guards for open looks. We want to dump the ball inside."
That quickness was on full display in Wednesday night's 62-17, Schuylkill League Division I victory over Panther Valley.
Right out of the gate, North Schuylkill sophomore Tiffany Lapotsky and senior Lauren Damiter hit back-to-back 3-point field goals, and before most spectators had the opportunity to look up to the scoreboard, the Spartans led the Panthers 14-3 with barely four minutes melted off the clock.
"They run a real nice break, a Carolina-type break, everytime they have an opportunity to do that," Panther Valley coach Brad Hurley said. "When you're not deep, it's tough to play at that pace. They made us play to their pace and we got tired. When you get tired, you break down mentally."
North Schuylkill led 33-7 at halftime, and yet just one player was in double digits - Lapotsky with 11 - though every other Spartan who saw time in the first half had points to their name.
At the end of the game, Lapotsky was still the only North Schuylkill player in double digits with 19 points, including four 3-pointers. Carly Gregas had the next highest total with eight, then Damiter with seven.
"We play 5-on-5; we're all team players," Spartan senior Nadya Spotts said. "There are four seniors on the team, and we're all willing to pass it up to (Lapotsky) for her to score. Whoever's on, we pass it to them. It doesn't really matter who scored."
Spotts spent most of the evening setting up those scores.
One of the instances in which Spotts was on the receiving end was a possession in the third quarter. Waverly Snyder brought the ball up court for the Spartans, who made four quick passes, with everyone getting a touch, before it found Spotts underneath - all in just under 10 seconds from baseline to baseline.
That particular play resulted in Panther Valley committing a foul.
"All our kids know they have the green light to shoot the ball," Rizzo said. "We encourage getting quick shots. We're not a team that's going to pass the ball around 15 times ... Then we want to get that quick shot if it's a high-percentage look."
And there were few misses in those high-percentage looks. With Panther Valley (2-1, 0-1 D-I) shutting down the paint, the Spartans were content to shoot from long distance, hitting seven 3-pointers all evening.
Twice officials had to fix the net in which the Spartans were shooting because it tangled around the rim.
"Our girls fought," Hurley said. "I feel like we were in the right spaces at times defensively but when you play at that pace and only have seven deep, it's tough.
"Credit goes to Coach Rizzo. They've done a real nice job building this program to where it is. They're going to do this to a lot of teams this year."
In fact, they already have. The Spartans (5-1, 2-0) won their last three games by an average of just over 46 points.
The Spartans' quickness Wednesday night didn't just apply to their offense. After their first points of the game, they went into a full-court press.
"We try to get in people's faces - full-court, three-quarter court - getting the ball out as quick as possible," Spotts said. "We want to beat them up court with our speed and our numbers on the bench."
But North Schuylkill's traps and presses aren't always aimed at throwing off its opponents' offense - though it's a welcome result - it's merely the pace at which the Spartans choose to play.
"Our kids love to fly around. They like to run and jump," Rizzo said. "Sometimes, our kids are asking to get up and trap. They want to do it without me telling them.
"It works for our culture. It fits in."