Now that the Northview girls basketball team has grasped and embraced a new aggressive, uptempo system, the Wildcats are thriving with the frenetic energy.

Second-year coach Brittaney Cymbolin instituted the fast-paced style when she took over the traditional strong program last season. Now the Wildcats (14-4 overall) are closing in on a Northern Lakes League title with an 11-1 record.

“We want to wear the opponents down,” Cymbolin said. “It’s really uptempo as far as getting the ball in bounds quickly and pushing the ball up the floor. We put pressure on the ball. We are pressing all the time to make the opponent uncomfortable. We like the fast break off of our defense into offense. ”

Cymbolin employs a variety of different formations and styles to pressure. She said the traps are designed to force foes to make quick, panicked decisions which leads to steals.

“A lot of [high school] girls are not used to that kind of ball pressure all the time,” Cymbolin said. “We want them to make mistakes.”

Employing a relentless, full-court defense, the Wildcats have forced 220 steals through their first 17 games (12.9 per game).

It also helps that three players who are implementing the system are tall, athletic forwards who will play in the Mid-American Conference next season.

Senior Kendall McCoy, a 6-foot guard/​forward who has signed to play at Miami University, leads the team with 16.6 points per game.

“It's fun playing that uptempo and pressing all the time,” McCoy said. “The whole idea behind the press is to make the other team work hard and make mistakes. It really puts a ton of pressure on opponents. Turnovers create energy and flow into the offense. If we get a steal and get an easy bucket, it fuels you.”

Senior Maddie Cole, a 6-0 forward who will play at Bowling Green State University, leads the Wildcats in rebounding at 7.1 per game.

“Personally I love playing her uptempo style,” Cole said. “We score a lot of points, and she makes us move the ball around. Pressing really is a key to our offense because most of our points come from steals and turnovers.”

McCoy admitted that she was a bit apprehensive when she heard about the new system.

“She was super energetic and it was a completely different game,” McCoy said. “As you adjust, it is really fun to play in and fun to watch. Now it's weird when she tells us to get back and not press.”

Senior Kendall Jessing, a 6-2 center who will play at Ohio University, is averaging 9.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

“These three have good basketball IQ. They will be ready for MAC play,” Cymbolin said.

Cymbolin said her players have now adjusted to the uptempo system.

They are really starting to come into their own,” she said. “We are so tall we can create offense out of our defense with our breakaways. For our bigs it frees them up to go one on one and post up.”

Cymbolin said the game is now being played at a faster pace at all levels. She said it will help her three forwards prepare for the college game.

“They will able to keep up the pace,” she said.

Cole, an All-NLL first team pick as a junior, is averaging 9.7 points and has 22 steals.

“This is really preparing me,” Cole said. “I went to one of Bowling Green's practices and they were exactly like our pace. So we will be ready for the next level.”

McCoy, who earned All-NLL first team honors last year, has 36 steals in 17 games. She also has 107 rebounds (6.9 per game).

“For the three of us we are lucky to have her and style of play,” McCoy said. “It's tremendous. It is helping me, especially on defense. It will help me at the next level.”

While the trio receives much of the recognition, senior point guard Maddie Fries (5-5) provides the fuel.

“She is the glue that holds us together,” Cymbolin said. “I can't say enough great things about her. Everything runs through her. She does all the little things and never cares about recognition.”

Cole said Fries, who averages 7.1 points and has 34 steals, is the commander that keeps the team calm.

“She does not get enough credit,” McCoy agreed. “She adds so much to the team with the nitty gritty things she does.”

Haley Archibeque leads the team with 38 steals and six players have had at least 20 steals this season.

Cymbolin said the basics of the pressing system come from a style used by her coach when she was a senior at Evergreen. Dan English, a longtime successful coach at Fairview, took over at Evergreen in 2000-01.

“He won a state title at Fairview with it,” she said. “It was a system I had to buy into in high school. I got lucky. I watched films of his teams and it was the best film I ever saw. They forced kids to take shots under pressure.”

Cymbolin played four years at Tri State University (now called Trine), before becoming an assistant at a high school program in Florida. She then became a head coach for three years before coming back to northwest Ohio.

“Being from Evergreen I always looked up to Northview and the tradition here,” she said.

Cymbolin had to fill the shoes of legendary coach Jerry Sigler, who had retired after 38 years of coaching the Wildcats.

He led Northview to at least a share of 18 league championships: nine each in the former Great Lakes League and the NLL.

The Wildcats also reached the state final four in 2005, 2004, and 1978.

“I try to keep some of the traditions that Jerry put in place because I respect him and what he created here,” Cymbolin said. “I want to honor the alumni and tradition. I talked to them all the time about how we owe it to prior players to keep up what they started.”

Northview is seeking its first title since 2011-12 when the Wildcats had captured three in a row. Northview won six NLL titles in 10 years beginning in the 2002-03 season.

“It's an honor and a privilege to play for Northview,” McCoy said. “It has always been a great program. Ever since I was little I wanted to wear that jersey.”

Northview finished 18-7 last season, second in the NLL at 11-3.

Cymbolin said the biggest improvements have been in the team's composure and chemistry.

“They are sharing the basketball better,” she said. “They are not into statistics and what they are doing. After the games the kids will talk about how many assists they had.”

Northview can clinch at least at share of the league title with a win at Napoleon tonight. The regular-season finale is Tuesday at Anthony Wayne.

“Basketball is a long season,” Cymbolin said. “We need to finish the task at hand. One of our goals is to win the NLL and we want to make it far in the tournament. It's gone pretty well but there is always more work to be done. We know we are capable of great things.”

Contact Mark Monroe at: mmonroe@theblade.com, 419-724-6354 or on Twitter @MonroeBlade.

First Published February 12, 2015, 5:46 a.m.