There's no question that the next two games are going to be huge for the Montour girls' basketball team.

And Spartans coach Jack Burik can't help but be a little excited.

Not only has Montour (9-7, 5-4) clinched a WPIAL Class AAA playoff berth, with Section 4-AAA games still to play against West Mifflin tonight and South Park Tuesday, it can finish as high as second in the section standings.

Meanwhile, the Spartans also will have the services of another able scorer.

"We're just a whole different team now," the fifth-year coach said. "We can really run. For the teams who haven't seen us lately ... I think they're going to be surprised."

The Spartans, who earned key section victories last week against Steel Valley, 57-34, and West Allegheny, 34-33, recently added 6-foot Alena Esposito back into its starting lineup.

A junior forward who averaged 15.1 points per game as a freshman, Esposito missed all of her sophomore year and half of this season.

"We've seen a big change in the last two or three games and that's because we have one of our main players back," Burik said. "She's a huge game-changer. She missed last year because of health reasons and returned for one scrimmage this year before she got injured with a chipped bone in her ankle.

"Having her back with our other starters is huge. She's something we didn't have, considering her knowledge of the game and feel for the game. She's a force who can score inside and out."

Esposito scored 13 points in her return during Montour's 45-40 loss to No. 4-ranked and section-front-runner Chartiers Valley Jan. 21. She followed with a 17-point performance against Mars.

"She's definitely been a big help," Montour star junior guard Meghan Mastroianni said. "Me, her and our point guard, [junior] Marina Scarantino, have been playing together since fourth grade. Just [Esposito] being in games has been big because we can find each other on the court. We just know where to find one another."

Mastroianni, a daughter of Quaker Valley boys' coach Mike Mastroianni, has led the Spartans' scoring efforts with an average of 17 points a game.

"She's scoring inside and out and is getting better with each game," Burik said. "She's an outstanding player overall, by far. She's getting close to seven rebounds a game.

"I keep getting on her case about scoring because she should be scoring close to 26 to 30 points game, but she keeps getting her shots and has been playing more up-tempo."

Mastroianni scored a team-high 20 against Mars, nine against West Allegheny, 18 against Steel Valley and 16 against Chartiers Valley.

"We've improved so much over the entire season," Mastroianni said. "I think if we go back and play some of those teams we lost to, they would be much different games.

"Everyone is playing their role. Not everyone is scoring, but they're still doing their job and doing what's needed to be done."

Along with Mastroianni, Scarantino and Esposito, the Spartans also have relied on starters senior forward Emily Stinner and senior center Tess Bingham as well as senior guard Kalynn Hill, sophomore Codi Lee Dugan and sophomore forward Brianna Peckich.

"Basically our prototype for success is to stay even rebounding, and now we've been dominating the boards," Burik said. "We've also limited our turnovers and that hasn't been a problem.

"Our foul shooting is somewhat suspect. Right now, we're about 64 percent and that's sub par. That's what beat us against Chartiers Valley.

"We've been successful in close games. We have a tendency to win close games and I have been pleased with the way we've played defensively the last five minutes of close games with our ability to adjust."

Through 15 games, Montour sat in third place in Section 4-AAA behind Chartiers Valley (13-4, 9-0) and South Park (11-5, 5-3). West Mifflin (8-8, 4-4) followed the Spartans in the standings.

Montour hits the road to play West Mifflin tonight before hosting South Park on Monday. The Spartans lost to West Mifflin earlier in the year, 46-38, but they beat South Park, 48-34, the following game.

"Everyone knows West Mifflin has some of the best talent in the section," Burik said. "They have two great post players who can handle the ball; it's going to be a tough trip. They play hard at home and it's going to be a big test for us.

"With South Park, [coach Reggie Wells] does a great job. They come at you with their defense and play up-tempo. They try to pace the game, so we have to slow it down. That should be an interesting game."

Montour missed the playoffs last year after going 4-8 in section play and 9-13 overall. The Spartans last qualified for postseason play in 2007 when they finished their campaign 20-9 following a loss to Hopewell in the WPIAL Class AAA championship.

"We have to stay focused and not think too much," Mastroianni said. "We have the skill and we can play well when we play together.

"We can't have only two or three players doing it all. We have to have all five of us on the same page. When we have that going on the floor, where we're on the same page, things click and we play our best."

Mike White's "High School Sports Edition" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.