It is obvious when you see her play.
    She exudes confidence when she brings the basketball up the court. She cradles the ball in a way that just borders on carrying. She can make her defender go one way before reverting back and heading in the opposite direction - all while the ball is still in her hands. Everything about her head fakes, no-look passes and cross-overs says that she doesn't play like a girl - or so they would say.
    West Jordan's Gabriella Rodriguez grew up playing with the boys. She played on a competitive boys' team and played against guys who were bigger, stronger, faster and jumped higher. There was no choice but to be smarter about taking care of the ball. Now, Rodriguez is the starting point guard for the West Jordan girls' basketball team and traces of the boys' game can be subtly seen in her playing style.
    "Guys are so much more in your face, constant pressure," Rodriguez said. "I had to learn how to be comfortable with the ball. If I didn't, I wouldn't play."
    It isn't unusual that high school players like Rodriguez played with a boys' team growing up. Bingham's Nicole Yazzie, a first-team all-state selection, can relate. She played in a boys' league until she tried out for the Bingham varsity team.
    But times have changed. No longer is there a shortage of girls who are interested in playing competitive basketball. No longer is there a lack of quality AAU and competition summer teams to play for. Young girls have chances to play in their own leagues, where a phrase like, "You play like a girl" is not necessarily an insult.
    "I don't hear that gender-based jargon that would drive me insane anymore," said Anita Rowland, who has been involved with youth basketball, particularly girls' basketball, for the past 20 years. "I don't hear things like, 'That girl plays like a boy.' Girls are so talented and skilled now they don't have to be compared to the boys."
    Natalie Williams, a Taylorsville alum who is a former WNBA player and Olympic gold medalist, remembers a time when girls didn't have a lot of role models to choose from.
    When Williams was growing up, she said the only person to look up to for young girls aspiring to play basketball was Cheryl Miller.
    Williams knows firsthand how opportunities for girls have increased since she started playing. She has a part in increasing those opportunities for Utah athletes, having opened the Natalie Williams Sports Academy, which caters to high-school age basketball players wanting to get better.
    "I'd have to go and play for California teams to play comp ball," Williams said. "These kids these days, they can play with their comp teams or even their high school teams and play against the best girls in the state. They don't need to play against guys anymore. They're still getting good competition."
    There's no question that playing against and with boys helped improve Rodriguez's and Yazzie's games. Their high school coaches say they have good court vision and have a good grasp of fundamentals.
    Rodriguez is comfortable dribbling with both hands, and due to playing against boys, drives stronger to the basket.
    Yazzie is considered one of the best passing point guards in Class 5A and her composure on the floor is unmatched. She also has learned to have a quicker release to get shots off.
    "I had to be smart and know when to let the ball off so they wouldn't block it," Yazzie said. "I played on a girls' team, too, so it just gave me a different perspective on the sport. It helped me in different areas of the game."
    Rowland agrees that playing with and against boys can only help girls become better basketball players, but the most positive aspect in the trend of increased opportunities for girls is the fact that young female players don't have to steal from the boys when it comes to role models.
    "With the women's game now, I think we have our own standard for our own gender," Rowland said. "There are people we can look at and say, 'This is how we want to play.' You can get there without trying to find a hero from the male side. Women have a benchmark now."