Throughout the season, the Norwin Lady Knights used a powerful inside attack to outscore all but two teams en route to a record of 24-2 and an unbeaten tally in Section 1-AAAA.

With the graduation of senior forwards Lindsey Loutsenhizer and Casey Batey, Norwin's offense will have a bit of different look next season, but that doesn't mean that expectations will be any lower.

The Lady Knights will return their three starting guards -- junior Emily Duncan and sophomores Nicky Costabile and Nikki Brenner -- and coach Bob Shrader is excited about the possibilities they provide for the future of the program.

"We're going to have the strongest backcourt, I think, going into the season with Nicky, Emily and Nikki," he said. "We're going to expect a lot more scoring, and I think we'll get more scoring out of them next year."

Norwin relied heavily on star forward Loutsenhizer this season, and the Manhattan College recruit responded with 20 points per game, in addition to being the team's top rebounder.

"She's a great basketball player. She made herself into a leader and a winner," the coach said. "She had a great year, and she's going to have a great college career. I can't say enough about her."

After missing her entire junior season to recover from knee surgery, Loutsenhizer returned to dominate Section 1-AAAA and lead the Lady Knights to the WPIAL playoffs, where they were ousted in the quarterfinals by Oakland Catholic, 58-55.

The team was eliminated from PIAA tournament contention when Oakland Catholic was edged in the WPIAL semifinals.

"Everybody's still disappointed. It was a great season," Shrader said. "We won the section, won 23 straight games. We accomplished so much. That's the way it goes sometimes. It is disappointing, but you have to consider the rest of the year."

Batey also plans to continue her career in college. She was a solid contributor at forward this season for the Lady Knights, Shrader said.

"She didn't have very many bad games for us all year. She was steady. She was always focused. She didn't make many mistakes. It was always there. She'd rebound every game and average about 10 points."

After saying goodbye to his seniors last week, Shrader turned his attention to the future, which will be in the hands of his star trio of guards, who also were some of the best on- and off-the-ball defenders this year.

They will be joined in the lineup by a trio of forwards vying for time -- sophomores Brittany Bargiel and Maura Znavor and junior Cassidy Kravec.

"The three of them playing those two positions, they could do well, and they're very determined to do so," Shrader said.

Juniors Shelly Springer and Andie Kyros also played significant minutes this season and should contribute.

The Lady Knights also will welcome back juniors Jen Zatezalo, Elizabeth Rhodes and Danielle Shirer; sophomores Becca Babyak, Katelin Mundy and Allyson Wake-man; and freshmen Jena Demek and Karla Yoney.