It's not uncommon to see high-scoring performances from seniors.
They're experienced. They're team leaders. Their game is refined.
Perhaps a little less common, though not unusual, is a similar performance from the occasional junior - a player that has a rare ability to find her scoring knack at a younger age.
What we're seeing around the Schuylkill League and surrounding area this season is something completely different.
Sure, we're still getting phenomenal senior performances from league mainstays like Becky Evans and Reighly Melochick, who are Nos. 1 and 2 in area scoring, but the number of underclassmen making an impact in the area borders on unbelievable.
The area's top 25 scorers feature five juniors, seven sophomores and three freshmen.
Of the 18 girls averaging more than 10 points per game so far, 11 have another year of high school remaining.
We're not just talking players on the cusp, either.
Pottsville sophomore Sadie Cresswell is fourth in the coverage area in scoring at 15.4 points a game. She's also a main reason why the Crimson Tide have executed such a successful program turnaround in the last two years. Pottsville currently sits in second place in Schuylkill League Division I.
Minersville, in addition to Melochick, boasts a slew of high-scoring freshmen. Forward Emily Mealey is eighth in area in scoring (12.8 ppg), while Abby Schoffstall is 13th (11.7).
Nearly half of the Battlin' Miners roster is made up of freshmen, and it's difficult to say whether or not they'd be in first place in Division II without them.
Lourdes, which is just behind Minersville in the divisional standings, also has its fair share of young guns.
Freshman Carmella Bickel was expected to make a big splash in high school hoops since she averaged 17.8 points as an eighth-grader. She's not far behind that mark with 12.7 this season for the Red Raiders - good enough for ninth overall in the region.
Junior Bailey Trell is just ahead of her with 12.9 points a game (seventh). Both Trell and Bickel are great complements to senior Rachel Shultz, who leads Lourdes with 14.8 points (fifth in coverage area).
Shenandoah Valley might have the best junior duo in the Schuylkill League with guard Kristina Nieddu and forward Abby Snitzer, who account for a combined 28.2 points a game.
Snitzer is the area's third-leading scorer; Nieddu is 15th - promising figures for a Blue Devils team looking to keep up with Marian in Division III.
The Fillies are getting great production out of sophomore forward Savanna Krusinsky, who contributes 10.9 points (tied for 16th with Nativity's Allison Warren), to go along with senior Gabby Green's 9.9 points a game.
Sophomore transfer Vanessa Whitecavage has made her presence felt as well, averaging more than 10 points in her last five games.
Something similar is happening with North Schuylkill. Sophomore Tiffany Lapotsky and junior Carly Gregas are supported by a talented senior class that has helped the Spartans outscore opponents by an average of 23 points.
Lapotsky records just over 10 points; Gregas is just over nine. They're the only two Spartans among the area's top 25 scorers (19th and 25th).
Williams Valley sophomores Kate Whelski and Rayanne Hawk have been nice complements to senior Cassidy Pinchorski, part of the reason the Vikings are holding their own in a deep Division II.
Pinchorski rounds out the top 10 in area scoring (12.1 points), while Whelski slides in the 24th spot (9.3) and Hawk is on the outside looking in (8.4).
It's not that we're just seeing these performances on teams at the top - or in contention for the top - of the standings.
Schuylkill Haven junior Emma Schweigert is 12th in area scoring, providing more potential to the young Hurricanes.
Junior Paige Demetriades is 23rd in area scoring for a Tamaqua team that boasts no seniors.
Whether your team is at the top of the standings, or working its way up, it likely has a bright future.
The week ahead
We're getting into the thick of the divisional schedule. Here are some games that will play a role in the standings:
Today - Pine Grove at North Schuylkill, Nativity at Tri-Valley, Marian at Minersville.
Monday - North Schuylkill at Blue Mountain, Lourdes at Shenandoah Valley, Tri-Valley at Marian.
Player of the Week Sadie Cresswell Pottsville
Cresswell scored 16 points in the Tide's 54-52 overtime victory over Blue Mountain, including hitting 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in OT.
Before that, she tallied 11 points in a win over Nativity on Dec. 30, during which she went 9-for-9 from the stripe on a night when Pottsville hit just 18-of-35 free throws.
She remains one of only two area scorers to record double-digit points in every game.
(Wilson covers HS girls' basketball for The Republican-Herald. Follow him on Twitter at @mjwilson_)Girls' power poll
(Through games played Jan. 7)
Team Record Pvs
1. North Schuylkill 9-2 1
2. Marian 9-0 2
3. Minersville 9-1 3
4. Pottsville 7-2 5
5. Hamburg 6-4 4
6. Blue Mountain 7-3 6
7. Tri-Valley 8-5 NR
8. Lourdes 5-5 8
9. Pine Grove 5-5 7
10. Shen. Valley 6-4 10
- Compiled by Mike Wilson