Starting as a freshman in college athletics often means playing with teammates you've never met before, but for a handful of members of Three Rivers women's basketball, there are no need for greetings.
Freshmen Hannah Thurmon, J'Kayla Fowler, Katelyn South, Lana Reed and redshirt sophomore Casey Douglas have all competed against each other around the region, so the familiarity is there.
Thurmon's team at Dexter went 1-1 against Fowler and eventual MSHSAA Class 2 State champion Neelyville last season. South's Twin Rivers squad defeated Reed and Malden twice in 2017. All four years of Douglas' high-school career, Twin Rivers made it to the state tournament. Every school and player competed in the Twin Rivers Lady Royals Christmas Classic Tournament every year, with Dexter and Neelyville playing for the title each year since 2012.
Now, opponents become teammates, and even roommates.
Fowler, Thurmon and South are roommates on campus, and the three have meshed well ever since.
"A year ago, if you would've told them they'd be rooming together, they'd have never dreamed it because they were mortal enemies, you know," head coach Jeff Walk said. "They'd try to beat each other, so that's the nice thing to see them grow as people and grow as players. We did that on purpose."
Despite any past wins or losses against each other, the players didn't have too tough of a time adapting to their new relationships.
"When we moved in, even if we did have rivalries still left over, we kind of had to get over that," South said. "We didn't (have rivalries). We clicked as soon as we got together and it's been good since then.
"I was actually kind of happy because I knew who they were."
South and Thurmon actually played together in elementary school before Thurmon moved to Dexter, and they had all played with at least one other teammate on travel teams growing up.
In high school, the freshmen all found success throughout their careers.
Malden made back-to-back district championship appearances in 2016 and 2017. Twin Rivers defeated Malden to win its district and advance to state in 2016.
Dexter advanced to the state tournament all four years of Thurmon's career and finished third when she was a junior.
The new group of talent is hoping to bring that same success to Three Rivers.
"We all know. We've been in a certain position or a championship," Thurmon said. "You just play for each other."
Added Fowler, "The way I played and we played, we worked together," she said of Neelyville's mentality. "What we did was always for the team, so I think that being here, all of us locals can maybe help out and be better as a team."
As past opponents, each of the players has a familiarity with how each other operates, but it still takes time to transfer that into team chemistry.
"You've still gotta walk that path," Walk said. "You've still gotta make those repetitions of making that pass on this certain cut. So, you still have to go through that memorization. (Familiarity) does help, but you're still not used to playing with someone if you've watched them play or played against them."
For players with a history of winning, success can breed a desire to win more. Walk said that's what has happened with his local players, something he loves to see from them.
"When you recruit kids from winning programs, it makes our job a lot easier," Walk said. "You don't have to teach that. ... If you don't recruit off winning teams, you have to teach kids how to win."
The women don't have to be taught how to win, and they also don't have to be taught how to live in a whole new area, something that appealed to each of them when they were recruited by the program.
"Being close to home (helped)," Douglas said. "I'm a very homebody person. It helps a lot being close to family. Having my family come to games and a lot of support helps you."
Added Reed, "It's like the same atmosphere here. It's not way bigger. It still feels like home."
Having family, friends and locals coming out to see the freshmen play could significantly boost the energy from home crowds once the team's home opener arrives Nov. 3.
"It's always great when you have local talent that can play," Walk said. "Those kids, they're going to bring a lot of folks to come watch them play just like they did in high school. I'm hoping that's going to translate to more people in the seats and cheering us on."