Amber Clutter is a master of deception on the basketball court.
She walks nonchalantly onto the floor, chats a little with friends or relatives in the stands, has a smile for everyone on the court, and often apologizes to her teammates for missing a shot or throwing a pass away.
The South Carroll senior point guard then will proceed to spend most of the game setting up her teammates for high-percentage shots.
Opposing coaches and players take a look at all this and figure they don't have to worry about Clutter beating them on offense. She is just too nice, they say.
Clutter effectively has lulled them to sleep, waiting for the right moment to strike with her three-point shooting or quick drives through the lane.
That moment only arrives if the fifth-ranked Cavaliers (21-1) are in danger of losing a game.
"If our team is down, I try to make things happen," said Clutter.
"Amber Clutter with those three-pointers killed us at the end," said Linganore coach Brian Matthews four weeks ago after South Carroll had beaten the Lancers for the second time and ended the Frederick County team's four-year reign as Central Maryland Conference champions.
Clutter said she prefers to jump-start the Cavaliers by getting the ball inside to Nicole Spencer, the team's leading scorer and rebounder.
"But if she isn't coming through, I'll drive, even though I really don't like to drive," said Clutter. "I'm not as confident as I should be on the court."
As the team prepares for Thursday night's state Class 3A West Region semifinal at South Carroll, Clutter is averaging 8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and two steals.
However, Clutter is more interested in what she calls an incredible bonding of all 12 players on the team.
"This is the most unselfish team I've ever played on in any sport," she said. "I love everybody on the team. We get together at a player's house before every game. We really want each other to do good and are always encouraging each other. I think we all have confidence in at least one thing we can do well on the court."
Clutter, Spencer, Melissa Gettemy and Erin Nauyalis are all seniors and have been playing together for four years on the varsity.
Since the players' freshman seasons, people around the school have predicted that this might be one of the best teams in the 28-year history of South Carroll.
This team is certain to have the best record ever, even if it doesn't win a game in the playoffs and drops to 21-2.
That mark would surpass the 22-3 record of the 1979-80 squad that went to the state finals. No South Carroll girls basketball team has won a state title.
"We definitely have some pressure to at least make the state tournament," said Clutter. "We've heard how good we're supposed to be since we were freshmen, but we've lost in the regional semifinals the past two seasons. This year we're thinking more about winning."
In pointing out how much depth the Cavaliers have, the 5-foot-4 Clutter said: "When we beat Westminster the second time, Carrie Tamburo came off the bench and hit a two-point shot and then a three-pointer. She can hit those shots if she is open."
But it is Clutter who will be expected to "drain the threes" most often for this talent-rich team.
"Amber looks pass first and shot second," said South Carroll coach Al Skierski.
"If she has to dribble, she is very smart and does what needs to be done to get us a good shot. She can take over a game and control the tempo. She did it in the second Linganore and Westminster games as well as against Howard."