Welcome to Lauren Kadlubowski's basketball world of fun, success, hard work, love for the game and winning.
Fun comes from the many hours of low-key practices with her father, Ray, in the driveway and at the YMCA.
Success is measured by the fact that six Division III collegiate coaches want the Westminster senior to play for them.
Work is an endless desire to excel on defense.
The love has come naturally after 13 years of playing.
Winning is a 17-4 record for the Westminster girls team that is headed for the 4A regionals, with an opening-round game most likely at home Feb. 27 against Quince Orchard.
"I have so much fun playing and practicing basketball," she said. "My dad coached me every year until I went to Westminster High. But he never pushed me to play. Every year, he told me I could quit if I wanted and he wouldn't be angry. His only request was to let him know before the season started."
To this day, the 5-foot-7 Kadlubowski said her father lets her know he is available to practice with her as much as she wants to but it's all up to her as to when and how long they work out.
"He told me he would rebound as long as I wanted to keep shooting," said the guard/forward. "I shoot jumpers, three-pointers and layups for hours in the driveway or at the YMCA. He'll foul me on the layups just to get me used to the contact I'm going to be getting in the games when I drive to the basket."
All those work sessions have helped her pull out of a slight midseason slump, said Kadlubowski.
She has come on strong during the stretch drive for the Owls, scoring 18 points in a win over Thomas Johnson, 17 in a big victory over Linganore, and 14 in a loss to sixth-ranked South Carroll, the Carroll County and Central Maryland Conference champions who have won 21 straight.
That late surge has raised Kadlubowski's statistics to an average of nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals a game.
She is third on the team in rebounding behind Beth Lister and Jill Ibex, both 5-foot-11 3/4 , and fourth in scoring behind Lister, Cassandra Conklin and Ibex.
"Lauren doesn't stand out statistically but she adds a lot to the game with all the little things she does like hustle for every ball out there," said Westminster coach Bernie Koontz. "She had a big steal and a layup that put us ahead at the end of the Linganore game."
The Division III coaches really like what they see in Kadlubowski, with Randolph Macon making a belated bid for her services last week after she had narrowed her list down to five.
Those five Division III schools are Penn State-Behrend in Erie, Pa.; Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y.; St. Mary's College in southern Maryland; Washington College and Ursinus.
"I've been accepted to all five of those schools and all the coaches want me to play basketball," said Kadlubowski. "I'm going to get some scholarship money for academics. I've decided that those five schools can give me the best opportunity to be the best I can be on the basketball floor. I'm not interested in going to a bigger school and sitting on the bench four years just to get money for basketball."
She wants to be an elementary school teacher and a basketball coach.
Kadlubowski has become so certain of her love for basketball that she has decided to give up playing second base for the Westminster softball team this spring to play AAU basketball.
Last year, Kadlubowski hooked up with an AAU team featuring a lot of Park School players and the squad made it to the junior nationals.
Ibex and South Carroll's Nicole Spencer and Ce Wagener also played on that team.
For now, the 4A regionals are looming large for Kadlubowski and the Owls.
"We've had a really good year," she said. "We've achieved most of our goals. We're looking at the playoffs and hoping for the best. We're not saying we're going to win a state championship but anything is possible."