Erica Bross didn't have a whole lot of fun in the first half of Parkland's 54-35 win over Dieruff Tuesday night. Bross was barely warmed up when she picked up her second foul and headed to the bench, where she spent most of the second quarter.

At halftime, Bross had just two points as her team led Dieruff by just four, thanks in no small part to Aubrey Beidelman's 10 points in the first half.

In the second half, Dieruff found a way to shut down Beidelman, but the Huskies forgot about Bross, who took over and sparked the Lady Trojans late in the game by going on a streak where she scored eight straight points for her team.

"I was sitting in the second quarter because I had the two fouls and I knew that I needed to help my team out," said Bross. "So I came out with a fire underneath my butt and I wanted to do my best for my team."

Even though Dieruff (3-6, 4-8) was hanging around and Parkland didn't pull away until the final quarter, coach Wes Spence felt confident enough in his other players to keep Bross from getting into further foul trouble.

"I'm sure it had to be frustrating for her with two fouls and because of the game situation," he said. "I didn't think we were in any pressing situation where I had to get her back in now and risk a third foul.

"She stayed in it and she was ready to go in the second half with kind of a clean slate and she played aggressively and took advantage of it."

While Spence has six seniors on his roster, he's not afraid to rely on younger players for contributions on the court. Against Dieruff, it was the seniors who helped to keep Parkland on top early and then to stretch the lead later in the game.

"I couldn't ask for better senior leadership," said Spence. "They do a great job both on the floor and off the floor. We have a lot of seniors on the floor consistently, but as far as being great teammates and examples and doing all of the right things, they do a fantastic job. Tonight was a night where we leaned on the older kids a little."

For Bross, her senior season has already been special, since she was part of the girls soccer team that went deep into district play. Helping to take the basketball team even deeper would be the dream scenario for Bross as a senior.

"It's exciting - kind of sad - but I want to make the most out of it, that's for sure," Bross said. "We're doing really well, but we've got to get a lot better in order to win districts and go on to states, but I'm really excited to see where we're going to go."

The real proving ground begins Friday night when Parkland travels to Nazareth for the first of two regular season meetings with the Blue Eagles (8-2, 11-2). A rematch with Central Catholic (9-0, 14-1) looms on January 27, but Spence believes that games against teams like Whitehall and Northampton could be just as important.

"They're good challenges for us," he said. "Each game has provided its own little challenge. We're getting to see areas of deficiencies. We're getting to see areas of strength for us, so with Nazareth and Central coming up in the next couple of weeks, obviously, will give us a chance to see where we are against teams that have proven themselves and are having very good seasons in their own right.

"We're going to have Whitehall and Northampton after Nazareth and we're a team that has to go one game at a time and do everything that we can to move forward, but Nazareth is the next one, so we'll start trying to get ready for them."