Nina Shaw wasn't yet born the last time the Knoch girls basketball team won a section title.

None of her teammates were born, either.

Or most of their parents, for that matter.

The last time the Knoch girls basketball team hoisted a section championship banner, “The Godfather” was in theaters, “The Brady Bunch” ruled TV and Richard Nixon was president — and knee-deep in a brewing scandal later called Watergate.

The year was 1972.

Knoch has literally waited a lifetime for a girls basketball team that is as good and as poised as this iteration is to end that long drought.

“There's a banner in the gym and I can't even remember what year is on it — it was a long time ago when we were section champs,” Shaw said. “OK. This is the year. We can't stop. We gotta get that. Every practice we go hard.”

Knoch has stormed out of the gate to a 3-0 record and those three wins have been impressive; the Knights average margin of victory is 31 points.

They have never trailed, putting teams away not long after the opening tip.

“We're just growing as a team,” said senior Madilyn Boyer. “We're building off each other.”

The hot start isn't necessarily a surprise to folks in Jefferson Township.

Knoch finished strong last season and won its first playoff game since 2009.

The core of Boyer, Shaw and Nevaeh Ewing returned and a slew of players, starting with Hattie McGraw, Megas Vasas, Cece Kosecki to name just a few, have filled in admirably.

Knoch has taken things up a notch this season.

“So far,” said Knoch coach Chris Andreassi with a slight chuckle. “We definitely have girls who can shoot the basketball, and coming off the bench, too. We have pretty good balance and more and more we need to get those younger girls into the flow.”

Shaw, even though she is just a sophomore, is the catalyst.

Her ability to see the floor — and dribble with ease anywhere on it — has made Knoch's offense potent.

When Andreassi saw her for the first time, he was in awe.

“I never saw anybody dribble the ball like her before,” the coach said.

Shaw added some scoring punch to her game as the season went on in 2019-20 and has become a threat to pass or shoot.

“Last year my game was just 3-pointers and layups,” Shaw said. “I knew in order for me to go to college to play and score more points, I needed to expand my game. Mid-ranges — I needed to work on that. I just work on everything. Ballhandling I work on 24/7.

“As long as I penetrate, all of our people are going to score,” Shaw added. “That should happen every game. My job is to give everyone an opportunity to score.”

And everyone has.

In three games, Knoch has had three different leading scorers.

Against Freeport Monday night, eight Knights hit at least one field goal in the first half.

“It's nice because we all contribute something different,” Ewing said. “We all feed off each other in every single game. We get along in practice very well and you can see that on the court. We all just click and play as a unit. It feels amazing.”

There's also a sense of urgency.

With the COVID cloud hanging over every team this season, the players are well aware it could all be over in an instant.

Nothing is being taken for granted.

It's given them a sharp focus.

“We just don't know how many games we're going to get in,” Boyer said. “So, we put in 100% at practice, hoping we can play the next day.”

Shaw is confident the season will be completed.

She's also confident Knoch will be putting up fresh banners in the gym.

“We've been playing together for a long time now,” Shaw said. “We've been ready for this. Coach has gotten us ready for us. We're ready.”