On the floor, you might not have seen them much until this winter. Behind the scenes, though, the leaders of this year’s Lawrence girls basketball team were preparing the pieces for this moment.

There wasn’t much room for younger, less-experienced players to earn major minutes on last year’s Lawrence team — not with the seasoned senior class the Bulldogs had in 2022-23. The veteran-powered team — led by Hope Bouchard — proved sensational, winning the sixth Gold Ball in program history.

Yet in practices, the team’s younger players got that opportunity to better themselves as they scrimmaged against those standout seniors. It was an iron-sharpens-iron process, one that kept the starters sharp while also helping their younger backups improve.

“That definitely toughened us up a lot,” said sophomore Maddie Provost, Lawrence’s leading scorer with 21.5 points per game this year. “They were great players, and it was great going up against them. I think that really helped get us ready for the big moment this year.”

That moment has now arrived, and the Lawrence players who were in much smaller roles last year are now leading the way. It’s tournament time, and at 17-1, No. 1 Lawrence, albeit very different from last year’s Class A championship-winning team, is ready to make another run.

The core of players that brought Lawrence to a title last year had been in the works for some time. Bouchard, Elizabeth Crommett, Lizie Dumont, Ali Higgins, MaKenzie Nadeau and Bri Poulin came together in youth basketball, then continued under ex-Lawrence boys varsity head coach Mike McGee at the middle school level before reaching the high school ranks.

In their finale, those six led a Gold Ball run about as dominant as dominant can be. Lawrence won the Class A North tourney without trailing for a single second, defeating Erskine Academy, Cony and then-unbeaten Gardiner to claim the regional crown. The Bulldogs then beat Brunswick 58-43 in the state final.

“We learned a lot from being on that team,” said Lilly Gray, now a starter at forward after being a backup to Poulin in the post last year. “We learned a lot of leadership. Those six seniors led us and were great teammates, and being able to learn from them and see what they did really helped us.”

There’s no learning, they say, better than hands-on learning, and that’s where players such as Gray, Provost and Nadia Morrison grew the most. As part of Lawrence’s “blue group,” the second-stringers who take on the starters in practice, they had to take on the first-string white group.

That task was challenging, but it was one, Gray said, that toughened the Bulldogs up a lot. She and Morrison, both 6-foot forwards, had some intense battles with the crafty Poulin down low. Bouchard guarded Provost, while Kaylee Elkins spent most of her time guarding Bouchard at the other end.

“Our blue group, every time they stepped in the gym, they came here to prove something,” said Lawrence head coach Greg Chesley. “They really handed it to our white group a few times last year. I think that’s shown this year; they really set out to prove something last year, and they’re still continuing to prove it now.”

It’s certainly seemed that way for Lawrence, which has been firmly atop the Class A North standings all season. The Bulldogs won their first 13 games before suffering their only loss of the season, a 54-52 defeat Jan. 27 against Hampden Academy. They’ve won their four games since by an average of 23 points.

How has it happened? Well, Provost, who scored 16 points in last year’s state title game, has made the jump from sixth player to probably the region’s best player. Gray and Morrison have been menaces on the boards, routinely bringing down double-digit rebounds. Elkins and Ashley Shores have also emerged as consistent scorers.

“We all played together last year, and the seniors last year showed us how to step into that spot, so when it was time this year, we were ready for it,” Morrison said. “They always gave 100 percent on the court, so going up against them in practices, I think it helped us so much to get ready for this year.”

This year’s group began its run in summer league, going undefeated. That, in Morrison’s mind, was the moment she knew Lawrence was in for another special year — the Bulldogs weren’t just winning; they were clicking, moving the ball well and communicating at a high level.

Chesley, on the other hand, didn’t bother waiting for summer ball to let this crop of players know it had the chance to be special. It was late at night March 3, with the Gold Ball his team had just won still in his seniors’ arms, that he told a gym packed with the Bulldog faithful that Lawrence wasn’t done.

“I hate to say it, but when we won the Gold Ball last year, we stood here in this gym for our reception, and I said, ‘We’re not done,’” Chesley said. “We knew last year this group was pretty good. Having said that, they’re still pretty young, and they had to prove a little bit this year. I think at 17-1, they’ve gone out and proved it.”

True, with only one senior (Elkins) on the roster this year, Lawrence certainly is a young team. Experience and seasoned leadership matter in single-elimination basketball tournaments, and while plenty talented, these Bulldogs lack the tenure of last year’s Gold Ball-winning group.

That doesn’t mean they aren’t ready. The battles at practice a year ago have readied the Bulldogs for the moment, and Lawrence’s résumé this season is one of a team that can beat anybody. The mission starts for the Bulldogs when they face No. 8 Mt. Blue (5-13) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center.

“There’s a lot of expectations whenever you’re coming off a state championship, and you obviously want to repeat that,” Gray said. “It was definitely nerve-wracking stepping up into those big shoes, but we’ve done it, and now, we’re going to go to the tournament and try to do it again.”

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