Building depth has been critical to pushing Saxony Lutheran girls basketball to the state final four

Just three and a half minutes into the game, Ali Galemmo hobbled to the sideline, grimacing. A year of hard work had led the Saxony Lutheran girls basketball team back to this point -- back to a shot at a trip to the state final four -- and Galemmo was in obvious pain nearly as quickly as the game had started. She returned to the floor not long after, but it was clear something wasn't right, and back to the end of the bench she went, the disappointment evident on her face almost certainly as painful as the foot she had just refractured a year after previously suffering the same injury.

But whatever hurt she felt, her team played on. And it won the state quarterfinal without her. And it celebrated with her.

Galemmo won't play in Thursday's state semifinal against Southern Boone County, and she won't play in whatever might come after that, be it a third-place game or the pinnacle -- the state championship. Her post presence will be missed, but absence has made Saxony Lutheran grow stronger and is part of the reason it has made a return to state.

No team can really be great without depth -- without contributions beyond the most talented players. The Crusaders have faced a series of injuries and long-term absences that make Galemmo -- who is expected to be out for six weeks, including the beginning of the soccer season -- just the latest in a long line over the years. Saxony has grown and developed in part because of those hurdles, which became open doors for others to make an impact.

The Cruaders run sprints at the end of their practice Tuesday at Saxony Lutheran High School.

"It's probably getting to the point where they're used to it. 'What's going to happen next?'" Saxony Lutheran coach Sam Sides said. "They keep stepping up. It doesn't do any good to have pity on yourself. Those kinds of things happen and you've just got to deal with them and overcome them.

"We've had various injuries or whatnot and people go down for extended periods of time, and you've just got to overcome that. Those difficulties are opportunities for somebody."

It's an approach the Crusaders have embraced, and it has done them well. Of a critical eight-player senior class, five girls have had surgery at some point. Since their freshman year, they were all healthy enough to play at the same time for a five-week stretch -- between Raegan Wieser's return from an ACL tear on Jan. 25 and Galemmo's injury on Saturday. That's 11 games.

"I think our biggest challenge has been injuries," senior guard Brianna Mueller said. "We've always fought through them, but I think that's what's made us the team that we are. Now we do know how to fight through adversity and pick up each other's slack whenever we don't have a key rebounder or a key scorer on the floor. We've just been able to battle through that, and I think that's made us a really strong, tough team to beat."

When fully healthy, Saxony's five starters were written in stone. Wieser, Mueller and Grace Mirly provided a dynamic, potent trio while Maddie Brune banged down low and Gallemo contributed on the boards, hit the occasional jumper from the baseline or the elbow and generally helped create space for the first trio to put points on the board. But as the Crusaders have marched toward Columbia, they've needed help from more than that.

Ashlynn Collier, a post presence, and ball-handling guard and defensive specialist Tess Daniel have been the first two players off the bench, while a handful of sophomores have been called into service to provide rest for the main group.

"I don't really have one set rotation," Sides said. "I kind of go by feel -- how do I think it's going and what do I need in there. If I think I need a bigger player in there, I need speed in there, I need a shooter in there. It makes it more valuable to be able to do more things, but each game is different."

Collier is the team's second-leading rebounder (4.2 rebounds per game). Her responsibilities and minutes have grown throughout the season, and now she'll be called on to replace Galemmo in the biggest games of her career.

Daniel has felt that pressure before. When Wieser tore her ACL at the start of the school year, it pushed Daniel into a starting role to help hold down the fort in Wieser's absence. It was an injury that threatened to dive bomb Saxony's hopes -- nay, expectations -- of taking another shot at a state title. In the end, the team hardly skipped a beat, and now, months later, is likely better for the opportunity to thrust other players into more critical roles.

"[Depth] is important when somebody goes down," Sides said. "It's like the old example of 'next man up.' In this case it's next woman up, and that's what they've done -- they've filled the void. When one person goes down to injuries or fouls or whatever, someone has always been able to step up and get the job done. That's what's [gotten] us where we are right now.

"A lot of these things, you never know, can turn out to be a blessing. ... When Raegan went down I'm sure they were depressed, but they didn't let it bother them -- at least, they didn't let it show. She's been a main contributor the last couple years and ... we were hoping and praying that she'd get back, but we didn't know that. She's made us better by being on the floor because she does so many things, but what is down for one person, somebody else is going to get an opportunity, and they took advantage of it. That's what they should do. To me, that's teamwork. Someone's got to pick up the pieces, and they've pretty much done that since they were freshmen. When one person has slipped or someone went backwards, somebody else has passed them up, and that's how we keep pushing each other."

The key to the team's success during Wieser's absence -- or at any time, for that matter -- is a clear understanding of what role they play on the team. Accepting that and striving to fulfill it, even when challenges arise, has allowed the Crusaders to march on.

"My biggest thing was I was just going to go in there and do what I needed to do," Daniel said. "I wasn't going to try to do too much. I wasn't going to try to fill a role that wasn't mine. I was just going to do my best and help the team win, whatever my role is that game.

"I'd just conquer my nerves -- it's a little nerve wracking going from being on the bench to starting, and I did that when I was younger but you kind of get out of that. So I'd just go in there and have to be confident and just do what you know how to do and contribute when you can to help contribute to the win."

For Daniel, that's taking care of the basketball, keeping the flow of the game going and grinding things out on defense. Despite being sixth or seventh in the minutes hierarchy, Daniel leads the squad with 1.7 steals per game and is fourth in assists (1.3 per game).

Depth can be a blessing with more quality contributions, or a curse with disgruntled players not getting as much playing time as they'd like. Saxony Lutheran has taken advantage of the former while eliminating the latter, and Daniel exudes that team-first attitude. After starting in Wieser's absence, she saw her minutes dwindle after her teammate's return. But she has continued to embrace her role.

"Nobody wants to hear [they're going to play less], but it's one of those things where you want to do what you can to be successful," Daniel said. "If that means I'm sitting on the bench, then so be it. If that means I'm playing more, then that's fine. You just have to have the mindset of, 'I want my team to be successful and I'm going to do whatever I can to do that. Whether that means I play a lot or I play a little.' And whenever I'm playing a little and go in, that means my minutes really matter. You have to go in there and make your team proud and work hard because you don't get that many minutes. Those minutes are really special and you've got to make the most of them."

In the quarterfinal win over Park Hills Central, Daniel played her role. In the process, she earned praise from her coach for making plays that he believes changed the game.

"You're concerned about that as a coach. You don't know how they'll take [a cut in playing time]," Sides said. "Some of them might take it as an insult or it hurts their pride a little bit, and we talk about that. You've got to be mature enough to be a teammate and do what you need to do for the whole. If you do that, then we all benefit. Their attitudes have been great ever since I've known them. There's very little drama. They just want to win, and they play like it.

"Like the other day [in the quarterfinal], Tess played more minutes than she had been since she started at the start of the year when Raegan was out. Now she's taking a more come-off-the-bench type [role] and she's been really effective. The other day she made momentum switches for us, and it seems like we get that every other game -- someone's coming out of nowhere and making contributions. That makes us tough to deal with."

The contributions have extended further down the bench as well. In a quarterfinal game that was never separated by more than a few points against the top-ranked team in Class 3, sophomores Laurel Mueller an Masyn McWilliams were frequently subbed into the game, and Courtney Kester saw playing time as well. The first two, in particular, have continued to see their time on the floor grow as the year has worn on, not just playing garbage time in blowouts, but being counted on to keep the ship sailing straight during key moments in games.

"Laurel's played more recently because she's really stepped up her game from JV," Sides said. "It fluctuates as the season goes on. Different players off of JV have come in and played good minutes, and a couple of seniors who aren't starting have played good minutes. We kind of feed off each other, and hopefully they push each other and it helps the team get better that way.

"When they play and they're in to it and they're not intimidated, they're probably going to get more minutes. Especially if some of the older girls get into foul trouble or just aren't being effective, it just depends on them coming in and being ready to go. If they come in and they're not ready, they're not going to be in there very long. I'm pretty demanding on effort and execution, and if they're not getting it done, then somebody else is going to be taking their place.

"Like I tell them, regardless of if you're playing 10 minutes or 2 minutes or 2 seconds, you've got to contribute. Whether that's in practice or in games or wherever. You've got to be solid. You can't be selfish or worried about their own personal stuff, they've got to help each other. Most of the time they do that."

The effect of depth on practice may be just as important as its impact once the whistle blows. Sides has had thin squads before, and it makes it nearly impossible to get quality reps or simulate game play. His current eight-player senior class was part of a big freshman group three years ago, but as sophomores the numbers fell a little and the team was made up of the eight sophomores and one senior. With just nine players to pull from, it was difficult to make the most of practice time.

Sides had to compensate in other ways, having to "beg and borrow" warm bodies, utilize special drills and practice against members of the boys' team -- something that, while not ideal, certainly helped make the group battle tested.

Players only get better by being pushed, and without quality depth, there is no one to push the starters during practice. That's why having an array of capable players has been key for the Crusaders, allowing the team's core to prep more appropriately for what it will see on the court.

"We feel confident because in practice we push each other very hard because we know that's the only way we'll get better," Wieser said. "It's very important because without them we wouldn't be able to be the players we are today. They're great players and they push us to be better, so when we get out on the court we're better.

"Coach always tells the sophomores, 'Even though you might not play as much, you're causing this team to do so well because of how you practice.'"

Depth is not something that can be taught or encouraged; not a switch that can be flipped. It is built with time and experience, and it flourishes only when fully embraced.

"Our bench is great. I think it's one of the best," Wieser said. "Because we're such a tight family, we're telling everyone, 'You're all good players,' so when they get on that court they have the confidence to be able to go out there and shoot."

Not everyone is equally talented, and not everyone can be a star. Or even a starter. But Saxony Lutheran has cultivated a team-first environment and built a bench that has helped it overcome obstacles that could have tripped the program up. It has been integral to the team's journey.

"I think our bench has more depth and they keep pushing each other, and that's made us better, I think," Sides said. "It's about as good a group as I've had. They're really unselfish kids and they care about each other, and I think that's a big plus for us."

Now, even short-handed once again, the Crusaders are positioned to challenge for the program's first basketball state championship. They'll just have to dig deep to do it.