The unknown quickly became familiar.

Marian wasn’t tiptoeing to St. John Neumann’s game plan. The Fillies wanted a high-speed, end-to-end pace. No waltzing and no slow dancing - or as the great Chubby Checkers would sing ... let’s twist again.

The Fillies (21-5) were off and running from the opening tap as they cruised to a 57-31 victory on Thursday in the opening round of the PIAA Class 1A State Tournament.

There were some early state playoff nerves to overcome for Marian before it settled into what coach Damian Fritz calls “Fillies basketball.”

Once under control, Marian used a suffocating defense that it parlayed around a huge offensive game from Carly Minchhoff to easily advance to the next round.

“I thought our defense was fantastic,” Fritz said.

Not only did Minchhoff fuel the Fillies’ attack with her game-high point total, but she also yanked down 10 of Marian’s 32 rebounds. She scored 14 of her points in the second half.

“I started to feel comfortable in the second half; it was just a matter of time,” Minchhoff said about her offensive output. “We had (some) nervousness early. But this is such a great win in our last game at home.”

Fritz knows that Minchhoff can go on a tear at any given moment.

“She had a great third quarter,” said Fritz. “She’s very talented ... just a great player to watch.

“That little post move in the third quarter allowed her to relax. When she made that layup, I knew she was going to go on a run.”

It wasn’t just Minchhoff who went on a run, however, the entire Marian team took part in it, reeling off 17 straight points. Minchhoff was at the head of the class knocking down a triple and a pair of buckets as the Fillies broke the game open, increasing their lead to 44-18.

That run might have been ignited by a Marian timeout early in the third quarter.

“I called that timeout because we missed an assignment (on Neumann’s previous possession),” said Fritz. “After we discussed what we needed to do ... box out, have all five players defending .. I thought we played much better.

“I wanted to take care of the little things right there.”

The win sends the Fillies into the second round of the tournament where they will play Christian School of York (25-2) on Saturday, weather permitting.

“It’s a nice win, but we now get a short time to get ready for Saturday,” Fritz said. “We’re having some fun, and we’d like to continue the ride.”

ONE DAY LATE ... Marian’s quick turnaround was created by (Thursday) night’s game moved back a day from its original Wednesday playing date due to weather concerns.

BIG DEFENSE ... Marian’s defense caused havoc from the start as the Fillies forced 13 turnovers in the opening quarter and built a 16-6 lead.

THE NUMBERS … Marian was out-rebounded 42-32. The Fillies shot 22-for-55 from the field, while the Knights struggled all evening from the floor, as they went just 11-for-54.

ST. JOHN NEUMANN

Cendoma 0-0-0-0, Reid 2-1-4-6, Pierce 2-1-1-5, Lisi 0-0-2-0, Weller 3-0-3-6, Nixon 0-0-0-0, Tutler 2-0-0-5, Parlante 2-0-0-4, Ballard 1-2-2-5. TOTALS: 12-4-12-31.

MARIAN

Minchhoff 9-3-3-23, Martinelli 3-4-5-10, Digris 2-3-4-8, Pleban 4-1-2-10, Corrado 2-0-2-4, Lombardo 1-0-0-2, A. Tikhtova 0-0-0-0, Nunez 0-0-0-0, Pikitus 0-0-0-0. TOTALS: 21-11-16-57.

St. John Neumann 6 12 2 11 - 31

Marian 16 11 17 13 - 57

Three-pointers: St. John Neumann - Reid 1, Tutler 1, Ballard 1; Marian - Minchhoff 2, Digris 1, Pleban 1.