They don't have an intimidating offensive presence, someone who can score at will on any given day. Or a towering center who takes up space in the lane and claims every loose ball.
Their leading scorers are averaging fewer than 11 points. There isn't a single player assured a spot on the All-County team.
It would appear that all the Broadneck Bruins can offer coach Bruce Springer is 32 minutes of supreme effort. But look closer. They also are packing 11 victories and a No. 20 ranking going into tomorrow's home game against No. 8 Arundel.
This isn't being done with mirrors, though a look at the statistical leaders sometimes makes you wonder. Unlike the teams that won back-to-back Class 4A state championships in the late 1980s, the Bruins -- now 3A -- don't overwhelm opponents with their skill.
Instead, they come at you in waves -- fundamentally sound, rested and eager to run. Springer goes deep into his bench, and anyone wanting to slow the pace might as well take a seat.
"We've changed a lot of the things we've done in the past, as far as defensive and offensive schemes," he said. "We've always been a half-court team, but this year I joked that we were going to be a 70-30 team, which I told the girls meant I wanted them to shoot 70 times and commit 30 fouls. I had to take all that aggressiveness and tone it down, but it's kind of carried over. We're not walking the ball up the court. We're more of a transition team."
And one that will accept scoring from any source. Four players -- seniors Jill Smith and Jessica Marshall, junior Alicia Nagowski and sophomore Sarah Brino -- are averaging around 10 points. Brino and Marshall average around 11 rebounds, and Smith is good for nearly six assists a game.
The two state-championship teams also were balanced, but each starter could be a prolific scorer when given the chance, and each had college coaches visiting Cape St. Claire.
"These girls are capable of scoring 25-30 points, too, but we're so balanced nobody has had to do it so far," Springer said. "And by rotating the players like we've done, it's harder to do."
Some of the victories have bordered on ugly. At times, the Bruins are more likely to lull an opponent to sleep than knock it out. They have scored fewer than 50 points in six games, with a low of 25 against Arundel.
They totaled just 39 points in a Jan. 20 win over Southern, but three players scored in double figures, led by Nagowski with 11. They accumulated six points in the second quarter and eight in the fourth, but still prevailed.
On the flip side, they have won their games by an average of 19.3 points, so opponents are feeling their wrath. And the heroes are ever-changing, which is fine with Springer.
Smith scored all 13 of her points in the second half to help erase a 28-16 deficit and allow the Bruins to defeat Northeast, 48-34, last month. Sophomore Emily Rader contributed 10 points and HTC 11 rebounds off the bench.
Brino, a 5-foot-11 forward, had 14 points and 20 rebounds in a 54-35 season-opening victory over Glen Burnie. Marshall was the catalyst against Annapolis last month, when she had 12 points and 19 rebounds in a 48-30 victory. And she joined Brino with 12 points in Tuesday's 60-37 victory over Meade, when 11 players scored.
The Bruins do most of their damage by committee. Thirteen players scored in a 59-22 trouncing of Patterson. Eleven scored in a 65-40 romp over Notre Dame Prep, and 10 registered at least one point in a 49-27 win over Chesapeake.
The most points any Bruin has scored in one game is 18 by Smith in a 63-61 loss to Severna Park, and 18 by Nagowski in a 69-65 win over Linganore. Nagowski had 17 against Chesapeake, and Brino tallied 17 in a 68-49 victory over Severn.
"I really think that's what the game is all about, being a team and being balanced," Springer said. "If you have one real dominant scorer and she has a bad game, who do you go to?"
The Bruins seemed to be going nowhere early, when they started 2-3, including a 12-point loss to Arundel. But they swept three games in the Noel Classic at Archbishop Spalding, and their only defeat since then came Jan. 13, when Severna Park prevailed, 50-45. The Falcons also took a 63-61 victory on Dec. 22.
"I don't think they believed they could beat a good team until they got to the Christmas tournament," Springer said. "We won a close game [54-52 over Mercy] and they said, 'Gee, we really can win close games.' And it kind of went on from there."
Will it continue? The Bruins, who were 12-11 last year, are in the same region as defending 3A state-champion Howard, Mount Hebron, Centennial and Poly.
Said Springer: "These girls feel they can be very competitive."