KARNS CITY — A cloud was hovering over the Karns City girls basketball program.

It had been five years since the Gremlins enjoyed a winning season and the squad lost one of its most dangerous weapons early in the 2012-13 campaign.

Still armed with a slew of talented, dedicated, but inexperienced athletes, Karns City coach Dave Kerschbaumer focused the Gremlins on defense and teamwork.

The result was a 15-win season and the No. 2 seed in the District 9 Class AA playoffs.

For guiding the turnaround, Kerschbaumer was voted Butler Eagle Girls Basketball Coach of the Year.

It’s the second time Kerschbaumer has earned the award in eight seasons.

“The kids have bought into what we want to do,” he said. “We got through some lean years, winning three or four games, but these kids are refreshing to me. They revitalized me as a coach, getting into the gym every day and working hard.”

Although the Gremlins have recently endured some difficult seasons, their proud history includes a state championship in 2000.

The 2012-13 squad was eager to return a winning reputation to the program.

“They weren’t around when the state championship team was here, but they know the history of Karns City basketball,” Kerschbaumer explained. “They took pride in themselves and said, ‘Hey, we need to get this program back to where it needs to be.’”

The young Gremlins — with Leah McGuire as their lone senior — often parlayed a suffocating defensive effort into an effective and balanced offense.

Kerschbaumer typically prefers man-to-man defense, but recognized his team was more fit for a zone scheme.

“We switched our philosophy and went to zone to pressure people a lot more,” said Kerschbaumer. “We got a ton of steals this year and that kind of fed into our offense. ... The last couple of years we have not done that and this year we got easy transition baskets.”

Karns City finished second in the KSAC standings, but individuals didn’t stand out during the resurgence.

Emily LoPresti, a sophomore, was the team’s lone conference All-Star and only received a third-team nod.

“I’ve never been a big component of one girl just doing this or doing that,” said Kerschbaumer. “We run motion sets, so we’re not looking to set up one girl to score a lot of points.”

Shanel Preston, a promising sophomore, went down for the year just four games into the season. As the Gremlins adjusted, the squad dropped to 5-3 on the campaign.

Once Karns City found a groove, the Gremlins cruised into the playoffs behind consistent scoring from LoPresti, Annie Hegedus and LeAnn Gibson.

“The kids started to find their roles a little more and they took off,” said Kerschbaumer. “Each game, you could just see confidence growing.”

Aside from McGuire, junior Emily Schumacher was their only player older than a sophomore.

“Sometimes, it doesn’t really matter when you’re out there if it’s a senior or a freshman playing, you just have to go out and play basketball,” said Kerschbaumer.

The example of McGuire helped the team mature.

“She wasn’t a big numbers person, but Leah McGuire was kind of the glue for us to hold everything together,” said Kerschbaumer. “She was the only senior and the girls really looked up to her.”

Although Karns City had plenty to celebrate in 2012-13, the Gremlins are still hungry.

Brookville pulled a 46-37 upset over Karns City in the opening round of the District 9 playoffs.

“We just didn’t finish it the right way,” said Kerschbaumer. “They got to the playoffs and got to experience that atmosphere.

“Losing that game kind of left a bad taste in their mouth, which is a good thing,” he added. “I think they’re going to take that and build from it.”