The Lady Royals are getting ready to play in the Division III Sweet 16, but for Bridgette Mann, just playing at all is sweet.
"I was kind of skeptical whether or not I would have the opportunity to play again," Mann said. "To be able to be playing again and now playing for a Sweet 16, it's just a great feeling."
Mann missed ten games this year with an ankle injury, but the Wallenpaupack product looked at a negative situation with a positive attitude.
"It was definitely a challenge, but I'll be honest, it definitely made me grow as a player and as a person," Mann explained. "When you don't get to contribute maybe to the success on the court, you try to think of ways, like 'OK, how can I help being on the bench right now?' So I definitely learned a lot from it and it definitely put a lot of things in perspective now being back on the court."
The court is where the reigning Landmark Conference Player of the Year didn't miss a beat.
"She's just remarkable," Scranton Women's Basketball Coach Trevor Woodruff said. "The respect that she has from around the region, around the country is incredible. She played in five conference games and was still voted first team all conference by the conference coaches. That pretty much tells you what the people in this region think of her."
Mann says she's probably about 90%, but as Coach Woodruff put it, her at 90 is as good as most at 100.
"She's played in all the biggest games. She's made huge shots," Woodruff said. "I think she provides confidence to the rest of the team. They all know that most nights we have the best player or one of the best players on the court every single night. There's no question, having her back makes us a much better team."
Mann and the Lady Royals host Christopher Newport here at the Long Center on Friday night. A win gets them another home game on Saturday with a trip to the Final Four on the line. Not a bad final chapter for Mann.