At the beginning of this season, girls' basketball coach Mike Graybill went through his annual tradition of predicting his team's eventual win total with his family.

Unlike most years, Graybill was not optimistic.

Why would he be? After a tremendous four-year run, the Christian School of York Crusaders graduated a sizable senior class led by the program's all-time leading scorer, Kendis Butler. Now, Graybill was trying to patch together a roster with new players and girls with no hoops experience.

"I said that two wins was our worst-case scenario and five or six was the best case," Graybill said. "I said if we were in every game I'd be shocked."

Graybill's brother, Mark, didn't agree with his assessment.

"He said we'd be around .500," Graybill said. "I said, 'What are you thinking?'"

It turns out Mark Graybill wasn't crazy.

After a slow start, the Crusaders rallied to reach the District 3 Class 1A playoffs. They won their first-round game over Mount Calvary Christian, 38-23, on Tuesday to give themselves a winning record at 11-10.

The eighth-seeded Crusaders now face top-seed Greenwood (18-4) in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Friday on the road.

It's another huge challenge in a season full of them.

Seven players on the roster

It's not just that the Crusaders are young and inexperienced — it's that there aren't many of them. Christian School of York went into the first day of practice with four players on its roster, eventually building that total to seven. That number is actually impressive when you consider the school has an official PIAA enrollment of 21 female students.

Two of those girls never played basketball before this season. Another hadn't played in five years.

"The girls I've got have great hearts and they've bought in," Graybill said. "Our saying is, 'All out, all the time,' but that can't just be a saying on a shirt that rings hollow. It has to ring true."

Getting seven players to every game has been difficult. One player struggles with migraines, and their lone senior, Laura Kruth, has missed time for college visits.

Another player, Aleah Zubrod, belongs to a family of medical missionaries from Egypt. She left the team for a period when her family was supposed to return to Egypt, but later to the team.

According to Graybill, there have been four or five games where the Crusaders had just five players on the bench.

"We talk about controlling the things you can control," he said. "That matters when you know there aren't subs and it doesn't matter if you are tired or hurt."

A win with four on the court

Things came to a head on Feb. 2 against Harrisburg Christian, when the Crusaders entered the game with five players and had one foul out midway through the fourth quarter. Up by 10 after the third, Christian School of York managed to hold on for a 34-31 upset victory playing four-on-five down the stretch.

Even now, Graybill struggles to describe the "junk defense" he employed in that situation.

"It was like a 2-2 amoeba zone with man-to-man principles," he said. "I couldn't even tell you how that game happened."

"It was like a box defense without the and-one," added sophomore forward Emma Bell.

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How do you prepare a small team?

While Graybill has been the small-school program's head coach for 14 years, it's still a challenge to prepare a team that hasn't always had bench players. He admitted he calls timeouts just to let his players catch their breath.

Practices have often been two-on-two or three-on-three scrimmages since traditional game scenarios aren't an option.

"Us coaches will stand out there so we have five players, two coaches and a chair while going over basketball situations," Graybill said. "We figure out a way to make it work. The only good thing is I love full-court, uptempo play. Our practices are organized chaos so they are ready for the games."

Graybill has been pleased with the cohesion of his starting lineup, which includes Kruth, freshman point guard Kayleigh Rhine, junior Mallory Tome, converted soccer player Emely Meza and the 6-foot-2 Bell.

Bell has been the key to everything.

A former Red Land student who transferred when her father, Andy, became principal at Christian School of York this year, Bell has been a revelation for the Crusaders. The sophomore is averaging 15.7 points and more than 14 rebounds and four blocks per game this season. She's posted 19 double-doubles.

"Her personality and maturity and leadership have been more valuable than her points," Graybill said. "Other teams have had good game plans, because there's no secret who the 6-foot-2 girl is. When the offense isn't there, the defense, rebounding and communication is."

Added Bell: "I've grown up a lot this year. If the focus is on me, it opens things up for everybody else."

After losing a bunch of close games early on, the Crusaders won nine of their last 12 to finish eighth out of 19 teams in District 3 Class 1A.

Still, Graybill is just as proud of how his players have rallied around each other off the court as he is of their performance. The Crusaders have often held team meals, and have taken time after practice to write get-well cards for family members battling illnesses.

If they do lose to Greenwood, the Crusaders can still make the state playoffs by winning two consolation games. However, Graybill and his players already consider this season a success.

"We have nothing to lose and we're only going to grow from here," Bell said. "Looking at what we started with, this season has definitely exceeded what I thought would happen."

Added Graybill: "There's a Vince Lombardi quote, 'The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.' There hasn't been a team that has lived out that quote like this one. I can't sing their praises enough."