Just because Courtney Franck isn’t scoring, doesn’t mean she isn’t contributing.

The Mount Vernon senior guard was averaging just 1.2 points per game in 2026 going into a WaMaC East showdown with No. 15 (4A) Independence on Friday, Jan. 16.

“It is just that kind of season,” Franck said. “But I’m contributing in other ways.”

That’s for sure. Despite the low scoring average in the five games in January, Franck was averaging 7.4 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 4.8 steals per game in 2026.

“Courtney is a state champion, a national champion, a full-ride college player (Wayne State),” Mount Vernon coach Jacob Misener said. “We just let Courtney be Courtney. And we’ve won 11 in a row doing that.”

On Friday, against those “other” Mustangs, Franck had just four points at half, and Mount Vernon led by one, 20-19.

She had the first bucket of the second half, and finished the game with a season-high 13 points.

“She is more than capable of getting herself in and out of things,” Misener said. “No one is more interested in being aggressive and scoring more than Courtney. She’s too impactful to mess with that.”

Franck and the rest of the Mustangs got going in the second half by turning up the defensive intensity. They opened the third quarter with a 13-3 run and led 39-28 going into the fourth.

“Independence tried some different things against us,” Misener said. “At halftime, we made some adjustments.”

“In the first half we were sloppy with the ball,” Franck said. “We settled down, got into our offense, and felt more calm.

“And that helped a lot. And we upped the intensity.”

Taylor Franck led the scoring with 15 points and Quinn Pershing added 11 points. Sophomore Savanna Wright had seven points as Independence (10-3, 5-3) tried to hold her under her team-leading average.

“If they are sacrificing resources for Savanna, that takes away from other areas,” Misener said. “And we’ve got good girls on the court.”

With the win, Mount Vernon improved to 8-0 in the WaMaC East (13-2 overall).

“These are the teams we play twice,” Misener said. “These teams get to know you a little better and if we have an area of weakness, they’ll try to find it.”

Mount Vernon is the defending 3A champs, but a conference title comes first.

“We know these teams are going to come at us,” Franck said. “We’re going to have games where it isn’t going to be pretty, but we’ll get it done.”

On Tuesday, Jan. 13, Mount Vernon won at Center Point-Urbana, 54-42.

Wright had 21 points and Taylor Franck added eight points and six rebounds. Courtney Franck had 11 rebounds, four assists and six steals.