Cheesebro a driving force

As she weighed her options following her freshman season, and began to map out her future, Kat Cheesebro felt an overwhelming sense of pride and unfinished business with the Dartmouth girls’ basketball program.

Cheesebro fielded offers from prep schools such as Noble & Greenough, Tabor Academy, and St. George’s. As flattered as she was, she decided to stay home and continue to build with her best friends.

With Cheesebro as the driving force, Dartmouth is determined to blossom into a contender in Division 2 after three straight firstround exits. The ultra-athletic, attack-minded, 5-foot-8-inch junior guard, who is averaging 25.3 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.4 steals, believes the Indians (4-0) have all the pieces necessary.

“If we can do really well in this area, and then give some of those teams near the Boston area a run for their money, that will put the Dartmouth name out there,” Cheesebro said. “I think we’ll be able to make a really deep run this year.”

Soccer was Cheesebro’s first love, but she quickly gravitated toward basketball as well when she discovered the sport in third grade. She joined the AAU circuit in fourth grade, and facing older players at a young age prepared her for that same challenge in high school.

Cheesebro emerged as a leader her freshman year, making her presence felt immediately while averaging 16.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.2 steals.

When longtime assistant Brian Jalbert became the head coach last year, he reached out to Cheesebro, and together they mapped out a blueprint for the future. She bumped her stats to 23.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 3.1 steals, but none of that mattered to her.

Cheesebro, who excels as a driver and playmaker and models her game after Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and UConn’s Paige Bueckers, has a singular focus when she plays.

“She doesn’t care if she scores 2 points or scores 40 points,” Jalbert said. “She wants to win. There was a game last year where she scored 39 and we lost. She was livid.”

Jalbert recalls a matchup with New Bedford during which Cheesebro electrified the crowd.

“You could feel it in the gym,” Jalbert said. “Everybody could see that she was taking over. I remember one fast break, where she just pulled up for 3. She was kind of announcing, ‘OK, I’m here. We’re going to take this game.’ ”

Jalbert credited her for not only leading by example, but also bringing the rest of the team along with her. When teammate Kaelyn Zuber almost fell out of love with the game last year as a freshman, Cheesebro helped remind her why she loved it initially.

Zuber views Cheesebro as the most talented player in the area, yet she believes her humility and unselfishness also set her apart.

“She never makes it all about herself,” Zuber said. “She brings the team together and frames it that as a team we’re going far this year. We know we’re anchoring off her talent.”

Zuber has also seen her dedicate herself to the sport like no other. When everyone else is at the beach in the summer, Cheesebro is playing basketball. When others are taking a water break, Cheesebro is taking extra shots. When practice is over, Cheesebro often sticks around and mentors a teammate. Jalbert views her as another assistant coach on the floor.

Excelling at both Dartmouth and the AAU level, with the Honey Badgers, takes a supreme level of focus and persistence, and Cheesebro personifies that mind-set. She typically gets an extra shootaround in every day, whether it’s at 6:45 a.m., after school, or before a game.

Her teammates have taken notice, and there’s an authentic mutual appreciation. Girls’ basketball used to be primarily a late-November to late-February sport in Dartmouth, and now it’s a year-long endeavor.

“What makes her special is that she’s now bringing everybody with her,” Jalbert said.

Cheesbro is considering Boston University, Holy Cross, Lehigh, Assumption, and more, and plans to major in engineering, but college isn’t her main focus at the moment.

Dartmouth had a string of three deep runs in the early 2000s, including a state title in 2005, but no Dartmouth team since has come close to winning it all.

With all but one player returning next year, the Indians are determined to make some noise over the next two seasons.

They’ve won preliminary-round games each of the last two years, and getting a taste left them hungry for more each time. Cheesebro, who is 37 points away from 1,000 for her career following a 35-point explosion in a win over North Attleborough on Friday, is at the crux of everything Dartmouth hopes to accomplish.

“She’s helped put Dartmouth back on the map,” Jalbert said.

Courtside chatter

■ In coach Kristen McDonnell’s second season, seventh-ranked Norwood (4-0) is taking a leap. The Mustangs made a statement Thursday with a 53-49 victory against No. 8 Walpole in a Globe Top 20 clash.

“I think it gave our kids confidence to know they can compete at a high level against a very good team,” McDonnell said. “I think our defense is what defines us, and our kids play so hard and so disciplined on that side of the ball. They are a really tough, gritty group who will run through a wall for each other.”

Norwood returns its entire starting five from last year, headlined by dynamic scorer Tricia Wladkowski and defensive-minded Alexa Coras.

That returning chemistry, plus growing stability under McDonnell, has helped the Mustangs reach the next level.

“When you’re a new coaching staff, it’s like everyone is a freshman because everything is new to all of them,” McDonnell said. “This year they have familiarity with offensive sets and defensive expectations, and there’s natural confidence and leadership that comes with that familiarity.”

■ No. 13 Wakefield (2-1) opened its season with two dominant wins against Melrose and Arlington before a 52-38 setback against No. 12 Woburn. So far, the big mission for the Warriors has been to fill the void left by graduated point guard Emma Shinney, a Globe honorable mention who now plays at Endicott.

“We have a couple of people who have been playing the point,” said Wakefield coach Jason Pavey. “It’s so early for us, but I think the kids have done a really good job just trying to try to step up and kind of fill that role, not all by themselves, but kind of chipping in for that position.”

Senior Emma Quinn scored 34 points against Melrose and has stepped up as a scorer, with junior Brooklyn Calder also leading a balanced team that leans on defense.

“We spend a lot of time on our defense in practice, and I think it’s one of the things that is kind of a non-negotiable with us,” Pavey said.