Northeast Bradford coach Paul Bergert worked all week on preparing his girls for the full-court press and team speed they would see from Marian in the first round of the PIAA Class A playoffs.
But it wasn't the speed or the press that helped Marian beat the Panthers 47-23 on Saturday night at Martz Hall.
"We worried about their speed and their press all week," Bergert said. "It's actually their physicality - that was the secret component there. They killed us on the boards, were aggressive moving off their spots and you never get the ball right where you want it."
The victory advances the Fillies (25-2) to Wednesday's second round of the state tournament, where they will play District 2 champion Old Forge (20-3), which beat Harrisburg Christian 52-27.
Marian's success Saturday stemmed from a dominating first half by the forward tandem of sophomore Savanna Krusinsky and junior Abbey Whildin.
Marian held a 31-12 lead at the intermission and a 22-13 rebounding advantage - though four of those 13 were team rebounds for Northeast Bradford (20-6).
"They're not big girls," Bergert said of Krusinsky and Whildin, "but they're tough as nails, and we weren't ready for that."
Krusinsky finished with a game-high 14 points and nine rebounds.
"We were doing the things coach told us to do - pin our girl, work her up the lane, seal her off," Krusinsky said. "We've been working with our guards on getting the ball inside and that's what we did in the first half."
The Fillies' guards delivered all night. Seniors Gabby Green and Emily Sofranko finished with six and four assists, respectively.
Whildin did a little bit of everything Saturday. In addition to scoring 10 points, she also pulled in eight rebounds and recorded three steals, three assists and a blocked shot.
"When we first got the ball on the perimeter, I could see that there were open lanes," Whildin said. "So we tried to drive into them and dish it out to the open person on the block."
The Fillies got the idea to attack the paint from watching Millville's 66-36 victory over Northeast Bradford in the District 4 title game.
"We did a good job of getting (Krusinsky and Whildin) the ball and they did a very good job of finishing," Marian coach Paul Brutto said. "We watched the tape on Millville and they had some success inside so that's what we were trying to do."
Meanwhile, Marian's defense forced 10 first-half turnovers off five steals by Green, Sofranko and Lindsay Nemeth.
The Fillies led 24-5 with 4:02 remaining in the second quarter before a couple of buckets by Northeast Bradford got the Panthers into double digits.
The win continues a trend the Fillies have seen all season, one of beating opponents in a variety of ways. Whether it comes from accurate long-range shooting, dominant post play or a stifling press, Marian seems to find the best way to beat an opponent of any kind.
"We've been fortunate that, on different days, it's different people and different ways," Brutto said. "Sometimes it's our press, sometimes it's our 3s. Tonight, it was more of our inside game.
"I love it," Brutto added. "It's hard to defend. You can come see us one night and think, 'Well, that's not going to hurt us.' And then we play you and it can hurt you. It's a nice makeup as a team."
With all their preparation, the Panthers did handle Marian's press well, spreading the Fillies out and finding occasional open looks.
More often than not, however, the open looks weren't converted. Northeast Bradford shot 4-for-18 in the first half, just 1-for-13 in the first quarter.
Lydia Werner led the Panthers with 10 points.
"I don't think our press, other than tiring them a little bit, was really effective," Brutto said. "Inside was where we had the edge.
"That's kind of unusual for us to have an advantage in the paint. But it's nice because the more points you get off the glass, the better off you're going to be."