TURNER – It has happened for much of the last decade.

The basketballs are rolled out onto the court. The dribbling begins. The shots go up. The wind sprints are likely to follow. It is all part of a welcome tradition that has been the norm for many on the Leavitt Area High School girls’ basketball team.

Each November, the basketball season gets underway, and these Hornets have greeted it with great anticipation and excitement.

“This group of girls have been together for a long time,” said senior guard Abbey Randall. “So it’s really exciting to start up again. Last season we had really great success. So we’re looking forward to it again this year.”

This year the Hornets have had even greater reason to look forward to the start of the season. Leavitt went 17-1 in the regular season last year and lost in the Western B semifinals. It was the best record ever for the Hornets, and with almost all of that team back, Leavitt was as ready as any team when the first day of basketball began Monday.

“It’s definitely a lot of fun,” said Randall. “We’ve played together for so long that we know each other so well. Whether we’re winning or losing, it doesn’t matter because we play so well together because we’ve been together so long.”

Most of these Hornets became teammates as grade schoolers participating on travel teams. While they look forward to building off last year’s success, they’ve been equally anxious to get back on the court where they’ve already shared a significant part of their lives as a team.

“It’s definitely very exciting,” said senior guard Courtney Anderson. “We’ve always enjoyed each other’s presence on the floor. We really enjoy playing together and have played together for so long. It’s going to be hard with it being my last year because I love playing with all of them.”

The Hornets run-and-gun style was fun to watch last year and fun to play for the girls. After graduating just one senior, Leavitt has a team returning that is used to playing well together and enjoys the chemistry built over the years. They also appreciate the strides the program has made. It wasn’t long ago that the program struggled to win and couldn’t even field a junior varsity team.

“So many kids have been around enough to see the transition from struggling to playing well and to being really tough,” said coach Tammy Anderson. “It’s been a great change of pace, and I think they appreciate that.”

After making great strides the last few seasons while still in Class A, the Hornets were a force in the KVAC B last year. Leavitt averaged 67.4 points for and allowed just 42 points. Only two of their wins were by less than 20 points. They finished the regular season with 10 straight wins, including the KVAC B championship game. Their only losses came against Nokomis, which lost to York in the state game, and Greely, which lost to York in the regional final.

They now take that experience from last year and look to carry it over into this campaign. With all but one player back, the Hornets are already ahead of the game and can pick up from where they left off.

“I think they learned a lot about how the expectation become higher every year,” said Tammy Anderson. “Their drive becomes a little higher because they have to work hard to get to the next level they want to be at. Maturity is also something that comes along. It’s knowing that you can’t be too up for games. You have to be prepared both mentally as well as physically.”

Prior to last year, Leavitt had been a bit of an underdog. They were a young up-and-coming team that hadn’t quite arrived. Last year, the Hornets turned the season into their coming out party and won’t be sneaking up on people this year. That forces Leavitt to face a little more pressure and even greater expectations.

“I like the challenge of that,” said Courtney Anderson. “Being the underdog is always easier. No one is expecting a lot out of you, but we’re definitely ready to step into those shoes. It’s not like we haven’t done that before. When we were little, that’s where we were at.”

These players have always had high expectations for themselves. They expected to win. It was often a matter of convincing others of their potential. Now they’re expected to win by those around them.

“It’s a little different,” said Courtney Anderson, last year’s KVAC B Player of the Year. “It doesn’t change our mindset. It’s just that everyone else is thinking something different.”

Randall and Courtney Anderson are the two returning seniors. Juniors Adrie Newton, Sarah Frost, Amanda Jordan, Kasidy Stevenson and Alana Pulkkinen are also back with sophomores Kristen Anderson, Desiree Tweedie, Jenna Cote and Mariah Treadwell. There’s also a solid group of freshmen coming in.

“We have enough good players that everybody can do anything on any given night, and we try to teach them that that’s the way it should be,” said Tammy Anderson. “So it doesn’t matter who gets it done but they have to have fun. Usually when they’re relaxed and are having a good time, they are fun to watch. They enjoy doing something well and enjoy playing in front of a crowd.”

They also enjoy playing together. It’s a team of friends that have been building for this moment for years. They’re not only excited about another season but also thrilled about another chance to share this experience as friends and teammates.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Randall. “We’re friends on the court as well as off the court. It makes it a lot easier to be friends.”

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