There's something different about the Hillcrest Huskies girls' basketball team this season. It could be that there is a new coach and new look to the team, or perhaps their winning record stands out compared to their perfectly imperfect record in Region 2 last season. The faces are mostly new after much of the varsity roster graduated. There is but one noticeable constant between this year's successes and last year's failures, and that is Lexi Amundsen.

Coming into her senior year, Amundsen has been the go-to player for quite some time now. She has been a varsity player since her freshman year, and the leading scorer the past two. Even when finishing the season with eleven losses last season, Amundsen showed up to play and continued racking up the points. She was the Huskies' best player when they were at their worst, and with the new season she has pushed the Huskies to previously unknown heights.

With seven wins in the preseason already, the Huskies have nearly eclipsed their win total from the previous two seasons. Much of last season's offense was based on handing the ball to Amundsen and seeing what she could do with it. First-year coach Dave Richardson has been pushing and challenging the Huskies to be more involved. And while Amundsen has yet to experience anything resembling a successful team, with her continued contributions and a more motivated coaching regime aimed at collaborating the team's talent into a nightly winning effort, she has shown a high level of confidence.

"We're actually running offense and it's not just the point guard that would just shoot up threes," said Amundsen.

Richardson has been reluctant to take credit for the work he has done in the short amount of time he has been the coach, but sooner or later he will have to come to terms with how good a job he has done with Hillcrest. To put the Huskies early success into perspective, they already have more wins this year than they have in any single season dating back to 2001. Richardson has brought a new way of doing things and the players have been responding, Amundsen in particular.

"Usually we would do a millions drills," said Amundsen. "Not anymore. I like it a lot."

And though Amundsen has been productive for some time now, Richardson reflects her praise and is confident he hasn't seen all she has to offer yet.

"Lexi has got to be top five in the state," said Richardson. "She's athletic, faster than everyone, and just really good. She gets double-teamed by every team, so we've been moving her around outside to give her more opportunities."

To get where she is now and continue her progression, Amundsen has had to find competition outside high school. During the summer she participated in club teams, where she was given more one-on-one attention and taught how to play her position at guard and the post more effectively. Playing against an increased level of competition has prepared her for whatever Region 2 can send her way.

The season at hand is still well within Amundsen's sight, but she can't help but be excited for what lays ahead of her after high school is over and done with. UC-Irvine is her first choice and has been in contact with the coaches. Scouts have already been down to witness her play firsthand, and more visits are in the works. As a Salt Lake City native, Amundsen also hasn't counted out the University of Utah as a possible destination.

And if Amundsen continues to turn the Huskies into a respectable team, wherever she ends up should consider themselves lucky.