A week or two might not seem like a long time.

But to high school basketball teams that are accustomed to playing several times a week, it could seem like an eternity.All 11 Times News area teams that qualified for the District 11 playoffs will have at least 10 days off before their first district game, while a few teams will have a break of two weeks or longer between games.According to area coaches, there are both pros and cons to having time off in February, and there are different ways to handle the break."I shouldn't say I don't like the way the Schuylkill League is run," said Lehighton head coach Rich Oertner, who previously coached at Northern Lehigh for 10 seasons. "But, the Colonial League is divided into two divisions, and the six best teams get to play. Here, they only take four and they aren't always the best four teams. If it was divided (geographically), we'd get to play. This time off is difficult. When you're not playing, it's difficult to keep that momentum."The Indians last played on Feb. 10, and aren't scheduled to take the floor again until Feb. 24 in the Class 4A quarterfinals.Oertner did add that the extended practice time helps young players who are receiving ample opportunities to prove themselves."One of the big benefits of the wait is that I have my JV's here practicing for two weeks for next year. I don't care what anybody says, our top-12 players are practicing against each other and it gets competitive. These kids that might not be playing right now are auditioning for next year."I think teams that make the playoffs have the advantage for the following year. It's a really weird time period, but you have to try and get everything out of it that you can."While it's possible a team can go stale or get out of rhythm, the layoff does give staffs an opportunity to put new a new wrinkle or two in their systems."One year, I put a whole new offense in for Tamaqua and they were a little surprised," Oertner said with a smile. "We ran it during the game and they had no idea about it because even though they had scouted us, we had never used it during the season."We're trying to do more fun things at practice. We did a three-on-three tournament, it's something different. We took a little time off last weekend. Wednesday we started working on (quarterfinal round opponent) Jim Thorpe."Another team with some time to kill is the Pleasant Valley girls."We started back up on Monday," explained Bears' head coach Nadia Gauronsky. "We got into conditioning this week and looked to scrimmage someone and get some extra plays in and fine-tune things. We're trying to make practice fun and keep it lively."Pleasant Valley last played on Feb. 8, and earned a victory against Pocono Mountain West, which clinched them a spot in the D11 playoffs. They open the Class 6A playoffs with a pigtail round game on Feb 21."I think the kids got used to playing games and were in a routine. We were playing our best basketball before the playoffs, which may or may not help us. A couple of us were injured, but overall, I'd like to see us play a little bit more instead of having the long break."Both Lehighton and Pleasant Valley will open the playoffs and end their layoffs against storied rivals.The Bears will square off with Stroudsburg in the first round of district action. The teams split a pair of two-point decisions this year."This is the first time this year we're going through a stretch without a lot of games," Gauronsky said. "It's something different for us, so hopefully we can just play well out of the gate. It's pretty exciting. It's a good rivalry for the girls."It looked like the Tribe was on a collision course with District 1 Octorara in the quarterfinals of the 4A subregional next week, but Octorara had its record adjusted because of a pair of forfeits. That changed the power ratings and aligned the stars for a date with Jim Thorpe."It can be a very difficult time, but I guess it's good playing somebody you know," said the Lehighton coach. "We both have a lot of time to prepare for each other. It's weird that we have a lot of time off, we've been playing two games a week for the longest time."Luckily, we had a pretty good season and the kids get along real good, and that makes it easier."*******SNAPPING THE STREAK ... The Weatherly girls basketball team snapped a 24-game losing streak against Shenandoah Valley on Saturday. The last time the Wreckers had beaten Shenandoah before Saturday was Dec. 16, 2004, when the Wreckers pulled out a wild 50-49 double-overtime Schuylkill League victory. Emily Zoscin unloaded 31 points in that game. After a strong second half of the season, the Wreckers will participate in the District 11 playoffs.*******HIGH SCORING ... The Marian boys basketball team yielded 62 points to Panther Valley on Friday, which marks the most points against the Colts in a single game this season. Marian had gone 33 straight games without giving up 60 points. PV's Tristan Blasko scored a season-high 24 points, while the Colts' Noah Stauffer set a career-high with 16 points. Jake Paluck and Anthony Collevechio tied career-highs with eight points apiece in the game.*******SCHUYLKILL STUFF ... Wednesday' slate at Martz Hall featured both Schuylkill League boys semifinal games. Blue Mountain defeated Marian, 58-27, while Pottsville edged Lourdes, 51-46. The Tide will clash with rival Blue Mountain in the championship on Friday at 7:30. The girls championship will be the first game of the doubleheader, featuring Pottsville and Minersville.*******COLONIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS ... The Colonial League championships will be at the Easton Middle School on Friday, featuring a girls/boys doubleheader at 6:30 and 8 p.m. The girls' title game will feature No. 1 Southern Lehigh and No. 2 Notre Dame. On the boys side, No. 1 Bangor will square off with No. 2 Southern Lehigh.*******EPC OUTLOOK ... The boys title game will be between William Allen and Bethlehem Catholic on Friday at Freedom. Bethlehem Catholic will play Easton in the girls final, with a site to be determined.