In the past, Jessica Grant and teammates Abbey Sayles and Allyson DeLorenzi played their roles while their older teammates led the charge for the North Park Collegiate Trojans.
This year is different.
With several players from last year's team graduated, Grant is one of the players handed the keys to a machine that's seen plenty of success over the last several years.
On Thursday, she led by example as the Trojans ran away with a 43-20 win over the Pauline Johnson Collegiate Thunderbirds in a senior high school girls basketball game.
"This team is so much different than last year," Grant said. "The chemistry is a bit off right now because we're still getting to know each other. A game like this is good for the chemistry."
Although Grant scored only one point, there's much more to her game than scoring.
"Being one of the older players, I'm a leader now," she said. "All these years Ally (DeLorenzi), Abbey (Sayles) and I have been able to sit back and be role players. This year, it's nice to be able to step up and be a leader and direct positive traffic.
"It's pressure in a good way," she said. "It's taken a while to get used to but I've really enjoyed it."
As is Sayles, who scored eight points Thursday night, while DeLorenzi led the way with 14.
"I think were coming along as a team," Sayles said.
She said one of the biggest differences this year is the team's size.
"We're all guards and don't really have any posts," Sayles said "So there's players playing in positions they aren't used to playing. But they're getting it. It's tough not having a big on the floor like we're used to but we work around that and run our new offence."
And she said a game like Thursday's is perfect for that.
"I thought it gave a chance to run a lot of different plays," Sayles said.
"We've played against the zone in tournaments but haven't been able to really practice it. This game was good for that because they threw a zone at us and we had to work hard for our shots."
While the Trojans continue to get to know each other on the court, the Thunderbirds keep improving.
"I think we had a pretty good game," Katie Lunn said.
"We did a lot better than we normally do, especially on defence. We also got a lot more shots than we usually do."
She credits the new defence the coaching staff has showed them.
"This one works so much better because you don't have to run around as much and get tired," she said.
"We're getting more confident and the coaches are doing a great job of keeping us loose on the bench."
Senior results
North Park 43, Pauline Johnson 20
NPC: Allyson DeLorenzi 13, Abbey Sayles 8, Kyanna Wray 5, Kirsten Sowa 4, Abbey Johnston 4, Jasneet Dhanoa 4, Jessica Grant 1.
PJC: Shelby Laughlin 5, Brianne Lavelle 5, Madeline Dailey 5, Amber Kozinski 2, Ciara Artoski 1, Ainslee Waller 2.
St. John's 49, Paris 26
SJC: Bridget Monkman 10, Monica Polgar 9, Kendra Van Leeuwen 9, Brianna Bavota 6, Rebecca Dabor 6.
Paris: Pamela Vellenga 8, Skylar Wright 6, Kenzie Coomb 6.
Assumption 58, Brantford CI 34
Junior results
North Park 35, Pauline Johnson 8
NPC: Gabrielle Marton 10, Halle Sitarski 9, Brooke Cesar 5.
PJC: Isabella Mitchell 2, Chelsea Brook 2, Elita Sweers 2, Brianna Tobias 2.
Assumption over Brantford CI
St. John's 47, Paris DHS 5
Retrieved From: http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2012/10/04/senior-trojans-are-coming-along-as-a-team
