Graduating Division I prospects from its program virtually every season, Oakland Catholic has always had an ambitious girls' basketball program.

	Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Oakland Catholic's Amanda Sedlack, shooting against Plum in a game last month, will play at Akron. Click photo for larger image.

The WPIAL Class AAAA No. 1 Eagles have a non-section schedule to match those ambitions.

Having won six WPIAL and three PIAA titles since 1999, Oakland Catholic (11-3, 4-0) has no difficulty getting invited to prestigious tournaments.

With Division 1 recruits Erica Prosser (Lehigh) and Amanda Sedlack (Akron), the Eagles are scheduled to play out of town on several occasions this season.

That included the Blue Star Elite Invitational in Philadelphia over the holidays. Coach Rich Irr's team was 2-1 there, and upcoming trips include a game at Altoona Area High School Feb. 2.

Oakland Catholic has already been to Erie and Baltimore for big-time tournaments. The Eagles opened the season with wins at Gannon University against St. Frances (Md.) and Our Lady of Mercy (N.Y.).

Oakland Catholic sustained one of its two early season losses during a trip to Bishop Breezy Shootout in Maryland. After a 69-59 victory in Baltimore against Notre Dame (Conn.), the Eagles lost to Seton Keough (Md.), 57-52.

"We've played in the summertime down in the Baltimore-Washington area the past couple years, so I've gotten to know some of the coaches down that way," Irr said. "We have two less games in our section this year, so we decided to accept the invitation to go down there to play good competition."

Oakland Catholic has bounced back with four consecutive wins, and meets Fox Chapel at home tonight. Oakland Catholic has already lost as many games this season as it lost in each of its previous two campaigns.

But a more challenging schedule and injuries have prevented the Eagles from totally dominating the opposition. Oakland Catholic was 61-4 for the past two years, so a 4-2 start this season was unusual by the Eagles' lofty standards. However, in both losses, the Eagles were missing one of their Division I senior recruits.

Prosser, a 5-foot-7 senior guard averaging 17 points per game, missed two games after suffering an ankle sprain that kept her out of a 61-47 loss at Hopewell. The Vikings are the defending state champion in Class AAA, currently ranked No. 1 for its classification in the WPIAL.

Sedlack, a 5-6 senior point guard averaging 12.7 points, also missed the game against Seton Keough due to what was believed to be a broken nose from an elbow to the face in the first round of the Baltimore tournament.

"She was taken to an emergency room in Baltimore, where they misdiagnosed what she had," said Irr, noting a less-serious medical report of Sedlack's injury was discovered once the team returned home.

"She's still having pain and headaches with it. How much she plays now depends how she feels when she goes out there," Irr said. "It's kind of wait-and-see. If she feels fine, then she plays, but if she's feeling bad, then she doesn't play."

Oakland Catholic has had injuries to other players as well. The most notable among the walking wounded includes 5-8 sophomore guard Colleen Kiss, who lettered last season. Kiss, who was a projected starter after an outstanding offseason of summer league and team-camp basketball, sustained a thumb injury that required surgery. Kiss played for the first time this season against Plum Dec. 21.

Also in and out of the lineup has been 5-4 senior guard Betta Levri, an experienced backup. Levri has filled in as a starter for Prosser and Sedlack, but has not been 100 percent because of a knee problem that flared up during the fall varsity soccer season.

"[Levri] aggravated her knee again in Baltimore and she missed our two section games, but she may be back this week," Irr said.

Players who have stepped up as starters this season include six-foot junior forward Blair Cotton, 5-10 senior forward Vickery Lauro and 5-5 junior guard Caroline Fitzgerald.

Two 5-10 junior forwards -- Anne Merrick and Chelsea Peck -- have been called upon to start in a few games as Irr tries to juggle his lineup due to an assortment of injuries and illnesses. Sarah Lamb, a 5-6 junior guard, has also been used extensively in the bench rotation.

"Vickery is off to a good start," Irr said. "Blair had five 3s against Gateway. Caroline has basically been starting, where we were anticipating Colleen Kiss to play and has done a nice job. Caroline had four treys against Plum, so we're getting contributions from just about everybody.

"With our injury problems, our lineup is changing every night, but somebody different seems to be stepping up each time we play. We're not counting on one person."