BUFFALO TWP — Three freshmen in the starting lineup and only one senior on the roster is rarely a recipe for high school basketball success.

But the Freeport girls basketball team has made it work.

Coming off a season in which the Yellowjackets went 7-15, second-year Freeport coach Fred Soilis was well aware of the young talent he had coming up through the pipeline for the 2016-17 campaign.

“I knew we were going to get a lot of contributions from young players this year,” Soilis said. “Through various summer workouts and different shootouts, I could see we had some talent coming. And they’ve played a lot of basketball together.”

What resulted was a 13-9 overall record, an 8-4 section mark and a spot in the WPIAL 4A playoffs.

The Yellowjackets will take on Elizabeth Forward at 3 p.m. Saturday at Fox Chapel.

Freshman Sidney Shemanski has been the main addition and leads the team in scoring. Fellow freshmen Madeline Clark and Samantha Clark are also starters and freshman Tori Radvan contributes off the bench.

They have meshed well with the lone senior, guard Kim Mixon, and junior forward Jenna Manke.

“I think the young players have looked at those two because of what they’ve done, Kim for four years and Jenna for the last three,” Soilis said. “They lead by example.”

Shemanski is Mixon’s stepsister.

No one has been more thrilled by the bounce-back season for Freeport than Mixon.

“Honestly, making it to the playoffs means a lot to us,” Mixon said. “It was one of our major goals this season and the fact I not only get to experience it with my wonderful teammates, but my sister as well, leaves me beyond happy and excited for what’s to come.”

It isn’t easy blending such young players into a rotation with older ones, but Mixon said it has been seamless.

“To me this team is very special,” she said. “The chemistry, the bond that we all have, and the will not to give up, has certainly played a role toward our season.”

Manke has also been a star for the Yellowjackets this season inside.

At 5-foot-9, she is deceiving inside, much like she was at the net on the volleyball court for Freeport.

“When you look at her, you don’t know what you’re going to get, but she had at least six or seven double-doubles this season,” Soilis said.

Freeport finished second in the section behind juggernaut and No. 1 seed Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic.

Mixon said what happened in the regular season matters little now.

It’s a different season. She hopes the Yellowjackets bring the same intensity into the postseason as they did in the regular season.

“I’m hopeful that my team will carry that same positive mindset over with us into the playoffs,” she said.