As Mount Vernon girls’ basketball plays this week at Wells Fargo Arena, opponents must navigate the “tip of the spear.”
At the top of the Mustangs 2-3 zone, are twin sisters Courtney and Taylor Franck, and their quick hands and feet, and relentless, tireless energy, can make the game difficult for opposing guards.
“Both just have a motor, and don’t get tired,” Mount Vernon coach Nate Sanderson said. “You put those two together at the tip of the spear. They really are a dynamic duo.”
Courtney was brought up to the varsity last season as a freshman, and made an immediate impact.
“Her activity level … so disruptive, her steals and deflections,” Sanderson said. “I’ll never forget, she asked, ‘Do you mind if I press?’ Court, I don’t care what you do, as long as you are back on defense.
“She has that attitude of I’m going to come after you. It changed the overall attitude of our defense in general.”
Watching her sister play was an inspiration for Taylor.
“Last year I looked up to her a lot,” Taylor said. “In practice when she tells me something, I try to take it to heart.”
Taylor joined her at the top of the defense this season.
“It was honestly really fun,” Courtney said. “Not a lot of teams have this much aggression in their zone, to have those top two that are aggressive, jumping into passing lanes to get deflections and steals.”
Courtney is 5-foot-8 and Taylor is 5-foot-4. But Taylor is the older sister by “about a minute.”
Their dad Gary played football and wrestled at Coe College. He was a D-III All-American, placing fourth at 174 pounds in 2003.
Gary coached wrestling, and the Franck sisters spent a lot of time in wrestling rooms growing up.
“They did wrestling, they tried it,” Gary said. “They went to tournaments and were successful. But it was not the thing for girls to do at that time. So, they stuck with basketball.”
And dad (like most wrestlers, knew almost nothing about basketball) even started doing some basketball coaching.
“It was a learning curve for myself,” he said. “But the footwork, the quick hands, comes from their wrestling background, battling each other.”
Courtney averages 6.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 3.3 steals per game. Taylor averages 7.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 3.0 steals per game.
“Her assist-to-turnover ratio is 3 to 1 in her first year at point guard,” Sanderson said of Courtney. “It is so impressive, the impact she’s had on our offense.”
While others may score more, or rebound more, Courtney is often the most difficult player to take out of the game for Sanderson. So much so, she’s had to learn to play in foul trouble.
“We are so much better when she is in the game,” Sanderson said. “I’ve told her, ‘I’m not taking you out.’ She adjusts to the way the game is being officiated.”
Taylor, meanwhile, is not a typical off guard. She is not a long-range sniper.
“She’s such a weapon in transition,” Sanderson said. “She has great open-court speed. And she has improved in a lot of areas. You can certainly find a role for someone like that.”
And don’t discount the twin connection. Courtney and Taylor work very well together.
“I mean, when we were growing up, we had that connection,” Courtney said. “I could pass her the ball and she’d just be there.”
This week the Francks get to bring the tip of the spear to Des Moines. And they have two more years to sharpen their skills.
Taylor said Courtney was interested in playing at the college level, and she might be interested in playing with her. Both have competed on the AAU circuit in the summer with Ball Stars, and now All-Iowa Attack.
“We’ve always loved competing,” Courtney said. “We enjoy being at the gym, hanging out with friends.”
“Their competitive attitude has made us better,” Sanderson said. “And they bring that into our gym every day.”
And while the Francks are the only twins, they are the fourth pair of sisters on the Mount Vernon varsity. (Chloe and Sophia Meester, Brynley and Rylee Rasmussen, and Lillian and Lucy Wischmeyer.)
“Four sets of sisters, of 14 players,” Sanderson said. “Each set of sisters has unique personalities. They get along great.”
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Class 3A state basketball
MONDAY, FEB. 26
No. 1 Estherville-Lincoln Central (22-2) vs. No. 12 Forest City (21-3), 5 p.m.
No. 4 Mount Vernon (21-3) vs. No. 6 Harlan Community (20-3), 6:45 p.m.
No. 2 Des Moines Christian (23-1) vs. No. 8 Benton Community (18-6), 8:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, FEB. 27
No. 3 Solon (21-3) vs. No. 7 Dubuque Wahlert (19-5), 10 a.m.
THURSDAY, FEB. 29
Semifinals, 1:30 and 3:15 p.m.
FRIDAY, MARCH 1
Championship, 8 p.m.