In the National District, Mount Vernon (23-1) won nearly every game by upwards of 25 points. Its average margin of victory within the district was 41 points, including a 109-13 win over Stuart. Against some of the region’s top opponents, however, that will not be the expectation.

“Knowing they get challenged every game and that their district is strong and we don’t, we beat people by 30 in our district, it’s hard,” Loftus said. “But we have got to keep working and go into each game like it’s our last.”

The Majors avoided any letdown in district tournament play, dispatching Washington-Lee, 52-44, in the semifinals and downing Yorktown, 66-47, in the finals. They’ll face a talented Centreville team on Monday night in the first round of region play, and Loftus said the team feels they are peaking at the right time.

Four players are averaging in double figures: Loftus (14.4 ppg), sophomore forward Samantha Porter (12.4), junior guard Taylor Dunham (11.6) and junior guard Tiffany Webster (10.8).

“We just have to keep focused and just know what we want to do, what we want to accomplish,” Loftus said. “We don’t want the season to end, so we just have to keep working hard in practice and hopefully get it done on the court.”

Around the Northwest Region

At times this season, Forest Park Coach Rebecca Tillett has wondered if she overextended her team by scheduling non-district games against No. 1 Riverdale Baptist, No. 10 St. John’s, Richmond area school Highland Springs (24-1) and St. Anthony's, N.Y. (which beat Riverdale). That gauntlet that does not include three Cardinal District games against No. 13 Potomac and two against No. 17 Stonewall Jackson, a Prince William County rival.

Some of those matchups came about by luck, or bad luck, of the draw in various invitationals. But if the ultimate goal was to test the Bruins (15-10), those benefits could show up this week when they play at No. 15 Colonial Forge (23-2) on Tuesday in a Virginia AAA Northwest Region quarterfinal, and possibly in the semis Thursday, with a state berth on the line.

“I know lots of coaches have different philosophies [on scheduling],” Tillett said. “Some want their team to gain confidence all through the regular season. We feel like we’ve got to challenge our kids. At Forest Park, they’re so used to going to the postseason they forget that not everybody gets to go and that it’s a privilege and you’ve got to earn it.”

Colonial Forge, which reached the region semifinals last season for the first time, has not played a schedule nearly as challenging as Forest Park’s. The Eagles’ losses were to Oak Hill and to the same Potomac team that has beaten Forest Park three times, including 66-58 in the Cardinal District championship.