Since she first picked up a golf club, Steph Bullis had gripped it deep in her palms.

That grip has served her well over the years. She was a solid No. 3 golfer on the Seneca Valley girls team, but she and Raiders coach Lynn Wagner thought she could shoot much better.

Wagner's solution: All Bullis needed to do was completely relearn how to hold a club.

"I was very, very, very resistant," Bullis said.

About three weeks ago, though, Bullis finally gave in.

The new grip had Bullis holding the club more loosely in her fingers, allowing her greater control, particularly when faced with tough shots that in the past made her clench the club even more tightly.

On the first day, the senior barely could strike the ball squarely.

"We actually had a match the next day," Bullis said. "I was kind of nervous to try the grip at that match."

But Bullis did. The results were encouraging.

Now, nearly a month later, Bullis is one of the big reasons why the Raiders (10-3) shattered the school record for lowest score in a match and are heading to the WPIAL girls golf team playoffs for the first time in the program's history.

"What finally happened was she made a conscious decision that this was not working," Wagner said. "She's smart. She totally committed to it and she saw the results."

The results were striking.

Bullis carded a 41 Friday against Butler as the Raiders shot a 169. That was eight strokes better than the record of 177 that was established earlier in the season.

In fact, Friday's performance was the fourth time this season the Raiders had broken the school scoring record.

"We definitely thought we had it in us (to shoot a score that low)," said senior Jenn Suder, who, along with senior Paige Wojdyla, shot a 39 in the record-setting round Friday. "I think maybe we can even go lower."

Monday would be a good time to do it. That's when Seneca Valley plays in the WPIAL semifinals.

"How about breaking it for a fifth time?" Wagner said. "That sounds good, doesn't it?"

Wagner's coaching approach has been unusual. She has hammered home to her players the concept of ignoring their scores during a round.

She also stresses focusing only on the shot in front of them, not the one they just took or the one they will take in the future.

"I think that is the hardest thing to do in golf," Wagner said. "You're always worried about your score."

Like changing Bullis' grip, ignoring their scores was a tough sell to the Raiders.

But they eventually bought into it.

"I think once we let it sink in and took it to heart, we were OK," Wojdyla said. "I was a player who always was adding up my score as I went along. I had to try to focus and just worry about the shot in front of me.

"I think it's extremely hard," Wojdyla added. "If I had a bad hole, I always worried about how I was going to make up for it to shoot a low score."

Wojdyla said she doesn't obsess about that nearly as much these days.

It helps to know there are plenty of good golfers on the team.

Seneca Valley has been blessed with six players who have excelled at times this season.

Wojdyla, Suder and Bullis are the unquestioned top three, but senior Catherine Bellich, junior Jaelyn Arrington and freshman Alex Steighner also have contributed low scores.

"My six have been tremendous," Wagner said. "They all blend so well together. That's why we have had the success we have had this season."