They left without fanfare, waiting to play another game that never came.

Yet five Knoch High seniors - Nicole Reiser, Liz Burgard, Jen Robinson, Lauren Koegler and Maria Frey - will graduate this spring knowing they rejuvenated the Knights' girls basketball program.

None of them have eye-popping statistics. Reiser led the team in scoring with 10.9 points per game, Robinson led with 7.5 rebounds per game and Koegler led with 33 3-pointers.

But they did something no other Knoch team had done in recent years.

They won.

"We all played as a team because we knew that was the only way we could win," Burgard said.

Burgard, Koegler, Reiser and Robinson all lettered for four years. Koegler and Reiser were three-year starters.

"They all started to play together in junior high," Knoch varsity coach Curt Vasas said. "They got a feel for each other then. Lauren, Jen and Nicole played on the same AAU team together the past couple of years.

"Those girls played 60 to 80 games together during the summer. That makes a difference. They didn't care who scored the points or got the rebounds. They just cared about winning. They were a special group."

Koegler, Robinson and Reiser all were teammates on the Western Pa. Ballers summer AAU team. They hoped to stay teammates with Knoch a little longer the past two seasons.

Fate decided otherwise.

Of the eight Class AAA teams to make the WPIAL quarterfinals last year, Knoch was the only one not brought back for the PIAA Tournament.

Of the eight Class AAA quarterfinalists this year, Knoch and Mars were the only two not brought back to states.

"Something was missing from our careers," Burgard admitted. "Something was definitely missing."

But the turnaround wasn't. Knoch had a combined record of 32-16 the past two years, making the WPIAL playoffs both times. The program hadn't experienced a winning season since 1997-98 and hadn't reached the playoffs since 1986.

Knoch's girls basketball program had a combined record of 34-72 over the next five years.

"We played so well together and got used to each other," Reiser said of the team's newly found success. "We all loved playing the sport and wanted to win so badly."

They won despite playing in a section that included traditional powers Mars, Hampton and North Catholic. Kittanning finished 14-10 this season but managed only a fifth-place finish in the section and missed the playoffs.

"We won with our versatility," Vasas said. "All of our guards could rebound, shoot the 3 or dribble penetrate. Nicole ran the point, but Lauren and Liz handled the ball well, too."Reiser scored 20 points in the Knights' first-round WPIAL playoff win over Thomas Jefferson and scored another 20 in Knoch's 47-43 overtime loss to Blackhawk in the quarterfinals."Our team rebounding was a big key for us," Robinson said. "If a rebound deflected over my head, we'd have three guards fighting for the ball."I was pretty confident we'd wind up with it."All of the players knew their roles. Robinson blocked 50 shots. Reiser averaged 4½ assists per game and shot 73 percent from the foul line.Knoch's five starters averaged between 7.9 and 10.9 points per game. They scored 43.4 of the Knights' 49.3 points per game while allowing only 44.9 points per game.Robinson credited Vasas with working the players' skills into the team's style of play."Mr. Vasas helped incorporate our skills into the game, rather than force us to play some other type of game," she said. "We ran very few set plays. We worked on our own plays on the court, we knew each other so well."Koegler agreed."We all got along on the court," Koegler said. "We had team unity. I'm proud of the people I got to know on this team."A lot of people go through school and are never a part of anything. I'm going to look back on this and feel good about being a part of that team."Koegler and Frey aren't going to play college basketball. Reiser will play at Pitt-Greensburg, Robinson will play at Allegheny College and Burgard will play at Butler County Community College.Reiser and Burgard have been playing basketball together since third grade."It's going to be so weird, not having them around," Reiser said of her teammates. "We've been such a part of each other's lives.""It already feels weird not going to practice anymore," Koegler said.It will feel particularly weird to Vasas next year, having to replace five starters as he had only two juniors - Kristin Robb and Megan Schira - on the bench and junior varsity to go with the sophomores and freshmen."Those girls went against our seniors every day in practice," Vasas said. "They couldn't have learned from five better examples of how to win."