One-and-a-half inches.

That could very well be how you measure the difference in Kenni Norton’s game from last year to this one.

That’s how much taller the Mt. Abram junior is, and her game has grown equally as much.

“A post player can’t guard me because I’m quick like a guard and a guard can’t guard me because I’m tall like a post player,” said Norton. “A guard usually guards me, and so I can see the post really well.”

Norton has emerged as one of the Mountain Valley Conference’s shining stars this season. She’s second in the league in scoring with nearly 20 points per game. She set a school record early in the year with 43 in a win at Winthrop. She’s among the league leaders in rebounds and steals as well.

“I don’t know how to explain those,” said Norton, who had 29 points against Georges Valley last week. “I don’t feel like I’m scoring that much at all.”

Norton led the Roadrunners in scoring last year with 13.5 points per game. Most of that production came from the perimeter. Logahn Walker handled the ball and penetrated. Brittany York and Janessa Thomas patrolled the paint. So Norton settled into a comfortable role as a compliment on the outside.

“She’s still got her scoring average up because she’s found other ways to score other than stand out there and bomb the 3s,” Mt. Abram coach Doug Lisherness said. “She’s posting up. She’s slashing to the hoop. She’s getting a lot of offensive rebounds. She’s going to the foul line a lot now. She’s really penetrating. What she’s done is really turn herself into a two-way player. She’s an outside threat, but she’s also a threat to go to the hoop.”

When Walker, York and Stephanie Coburn graduated, Norton and Thomas knew they had to step up their roles. Norton took the initiative during the summer to work on her shooting and her ballhandling.

“I worked on my game more than previous summers,” said Norton. “In my spare time, I went out to shoot knowing that we lost so much from last year.”

Norton improved her defense and raised the level of her conditioning. And, the extra inch-and-a-half didn’t hurt either.

“Now with her height, she’s a threat inside posting up and rebounding,” Lisherness said. “She’s tall enough now that she can look out over the top of the defense and make beautiful passes inside. Plus, she can shoot over the smaller guards. It’s definitely helped her.”

Her confidence has grown and she’s even relished her expanded role, possessing an ability to do things she hasn’t before on the basketball court.

“When I was younger, I always wanted to be a post player,” Norton said. “It seemed so much fun, the physical part. I’m a really physical player. Being a guard and shorter last year, I was like ‘just shy away from it.’ Now, it’s so much fun to bang bodies and dive on the floor and stuff.”

Along with Thomas, she’s been crucial in helping a younger Mt. Abram team evolve after last year’s Class C championship. She’s handled the ball more as Mikayla Burbank adjusted to her role as point guard. Norton has bolstered the post and been a consistent performer, despite nights when defenses keyed on her and the Roadrunners were down to six players because of injuries. Taking a lead role was a bit of a challenge at first, but her mental approach has grown, as well. Now, she welcomes the idea of getting the ball in key moments.

“It’s a lot of pressure,” Norton said. “You’re like the go-to person. So, if you mess up, you feel so horrible. Even though it’s not all about me, the pressure I put on myself, I just overthink stuff. I do better if I don’t think about it. I just shrug stuff off.”