The pain of losing one of her best players early last season now has a silver lining for Africentric girls basketball coach Janicia Anderson.

With Dayton signee Kamryn Grant recovered from a torn right ACL she suffered in the second game of her junior season, the defending Division III state champion Nubians have the luxury of saying they return five starters despite losing their only senior from a season ago in guard Ariel Grace.

“It’s not a hard transition,” Anderson said. “We’re figuring it out. They’re really trying to be intentional about playing the game that will make us be successful. It’s good to have Kam back. It’s good for us to be an experienced team. Every day, we’re laying another brick in the foundation.”

Africentric opens Saturday against Shaker Heights Laurel in Thrill in the ‘Ville at Westerville South.

Thanks to versatility, the formula for a second consecutive state title run might be different beyond the return of the 5-foot-11 Grant, who averaged 10 points and 15 rebounds as a sophomore and can play all five positions.

Senior Natiah Nelson, a DePaul signee, largely was a forward last season but is expected to play more on the perimeter. Sophomore guard Jeniya Bowers returns as an additional scoring threat, as do seniors Samairah Thompson (forward/center) and Ashtan Winfrey (guard).

Sophomore Jae’veyonna Brown (5-11) is the team’s only true center, Anderson said.

“The energy is just good and so is our momentum,” Thompson said. “There is a lot of pressure to keep the title, but from last year to this year, we’re handling the pressure well. We’re bonding a lot more as a team. We’re further along.”

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The area’s other state tournament team from last season, Division I Pickerington Central, returns two starters in senior forward Berry Wallace and junior guard Rylee Bess. Guard Jaden Tucker is the only other senior for a team that is coming off a state semifinal loss and seeks its ninth consecutive district championship.

Wallace, an Illinois signee, averaged 14.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

Younger sister Blossom Wallace, a 6-1 sophomore, brings size to the paint and speed to the perimeter.

“A lot of these kids don’t have a ton of varsity experience, but what I have seen is effort,” coach Chris Wallace said. “We play hard. We’re athletic. We’re not as big as we’ve been in the past. We have to find consistency at the point guard position. We’re strong in the front court. This group has shown that we might shoot the ball as well as any team we’ve had.”

Marysville, last year’s Division I regional runner-up and a first-time district champion, returns one starter in senior JoJo Eberhart (10.4 points, 5.0 steals, 3.6 assists, 3.5 steals) but added guards Abbey and Allison Price from North Union. Abbey, a senior, and Allison, a junior, averaged 10.5 and 9.9 points, respectively, a season ago and were honorable mention all-state in Division II.

Ava Collins, a 5-9 senior guard, played for Dublin Coffman a year ago. Her father, Jamey, is Coffman’s former boys coach and now a boys assistant coach at Marysville.

“Last year, what made us really special was how connected we were,” coach Klarke Ransome said. “This year’s group is a little more athletic, a little more versatile, which allows us to do different things. We’ll be able to play at a quicker pace on both ends.”

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Africentric, Pickerington Central pace central Ohio girls basketball