A run to the district playoffs might have been unexpected for last season's Weatherly girls basketball team.

"Last year, we were taking pictures before the game like it was a trip to Disney World," head coach Kevin Kringe said of the Wreckers' postseason appearance.But it wasn't unplanned."I think we're right on course. I think we are where we're supposed to be," said Kringe. "When I had my first meeting with them three years ago, I had a PowerPoint and I showed them our road to success, and what I wanted for the program. One of my first pictures was to get to Martz Hall and be in a playoff game."Now, Kringe is hoping a taste of the postseason - a loss to Shenandoah Valley in the District 11 Class A quarterfinals - will help this year's squad take the next step in what has been a steady rise for the program under the third-year head coach."Everything along the way, the seniors know, they're checking boxes as we're going," Kringe said. "We got to Martz Hall, we got the experience of a playoff game. We didn't do very well, but they want to win a playoff game, and move on, and be more relevant in the conference."We've been there now. We know what it feels like. We know how good teams are and how good we have to be in order to execute, so they have that in the back of their minds now."The Wreckers will lose second-leading scorer Shelby Berger (11.43 ppg), Lexi Hartz (3.27 ppg), and Jackie Gillott from last season's 11-win team.However, they'll return a core of talented young players who were major contributors last year.Point guard Emily Zoscin led the team in scoring (13.65 ppg) as a freshman and should only improve with a year of varsity experience under her belt."It's good to have someone solid at the point where I don't have to worry about getting the ball up the floor," Kringe said of Zoscin. "If a team presses, I hope they press, because Emily is so quick she's going right by them. And that's how she plays. It's nice to just sit back and kind of have her do her thing."Last year, she kind of had tunnel vision a little bit. Now, she's starting to see the floor better, making other people better, and that's the sign of a real great player."Fellow sophomore Megan Peifer (9.48 ppg) was the team's third-leading scorer and gives Kringe a dynamic duo in the backcourt. Yet another sophomore, Lindsey Hoffman, looks primed to contribute after having a stellar offseason.Seniors Sami DeSpirito, Christina Caravella and Jackie Henry, along with freshman Tabitha Hinkle, will provide depth for a rotation that is likely to include seniors Morgan Gower and Gabrielle Obert, juniors Gillian Hinkle and Katelynn Ache, and sophomore Abby Hernandez.The depth is something that should be an asset for Kringe and the Wreckers this season."We can probably go 10 or 11 deep, depending on what we need," Kringe noted. "Our bigs have really improved over the summer. Morgan Gower, Gabby Obert and Jillian Hinkle played the best in our scrimmage last week.""This is the best depth we've have in my three years here, which is great. The girls worked really hard in the summer, and you can tell."After maybe exceeding expectations a year ago, Kringe is eager for the program to take another step forward and write the next chapter in the history of Weatherly girls' basketball."In the beginning, we just wanted to be competitive," said Kringe. "Now, we want to compete and be relevant. I know they're good. Hopefully they think we're good. Let's compete and have a good game."