Heading into this girls basketball season, Center Grove coach Shawn Sanders knew he had plenty coming back — but he also knew he needed to find a way to replace graduated point guard Lauren Rau.
He’s done so with a committee of two, and it’s tough to argue with the results so far.
With sophomores Ella Thompson and Emma Utter-back rotating at the point, the Trojans take a 7-1 record into tonight’s home game with Bloomington South.
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Center Grove is ranked 17th in the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association poll and has won seven straight since a one-point loss to No. 11 Plainfield in the season opener.
The pair of sophomores hasn’t quite matched the numbers that Rau put up a year ago, but on a veteran team, they haven’t had to. Sanders has been pleased with the way Thompson and Utterback have blended in and not tried to take on too much too soon.
“I don’t think they put the kind of pressure on themselves that Lauren does, and I think they are playing well because of that,” the coach said. “They come in, and they trust that Cass (Hardin) is going to take care of things. Allison (Utterback) has got plenty of experience, Madelyn (Bitterling).
“They’re coming in, and they’re just trying to do their job and not more than their job — which is what you want out of a sophomore point guard.”
Center Grove’s lineup is guard-heavy as is — junior Emma LeMasters is the lone starter listed as a forward — so Thompson and Emma Utterback have plenty of help in terms of ballhandling.
They also came into the season already comfortable with their teammates. Thompson ran the point at times last year when Rau was injured, and Emma Utterback didn’t see much varsity action as a freshman but does have familiarity with the upperclassmen.
“I’ve been around these girls my whole life,” Utterback said, “because my sister (Allison) has played with them her whole life, and I feel like coming into it I’m not as scared. I know them so well, and they always can tell whenever I’m having a down day and they pick me up.”
The young point guard pair has combined for 10.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and nearly two assists and two steals per game through the Trojans’ first eight games.
Those numbers should only increase over the next two seasons as Thompson and Emma Utterback get to spend more time on the court together as Center Grove’s backcourt of the future.
“I think right now, Ella’s a little bit more comfortable as a scoring guard than Emma is, and I think Emma’s a little more comfortable as a playmaker than Ella is,” Sanders explained. “When they’re both on the floor at the same time now, we kind of put the ball in Emma’s hands and let Ella play off the ball a little bit.”
Neither player is worried about how that will work out. Thompson and Emma Utterback have played together for years — and while they are competing against one another for minutes this season, they’re still part of the same team.
“Emma and I are great friends,” Thompson said. “In practice, we push each other. It’s definitely very competitive, but at the same time we want to make each other better, so I think we just push each other every single day, and it translates to the games.”
The more they’re on the floor together in the future, the more payoff Center Grove is likely to see.
“I feel like we’re going to work really well together because we’ve played with each other for so long,” Utterback said. “We know each other’s game so well, and I feel like working together, it’ll just make our team a lot better.”
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The graduation of Lauren Rau left a void at the point for Center Grove, but sophomores Ella Thompson and Emma Utterback have been filling it by committee. A glance at how they’ve fared so far:
;Games;PPG;RPG;Assists;Steals
Thompson;6.0;3.4;6;7
Utterback;4.5;2.0;9;8
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