Ashlyn Roller has been mindful for four years to savor having her twin sister, Brooklyn, as a teammate throughout their Sparta careers.
"It's not something everyone gets to experience, so I don't take this for granted," Ashlyn said.
Sparta is off to an 8-2 start entering this week's Sparta Tournament. The Lady Trojans, who won the Walnut Grove Holiday Tournament, will open their own tourney as the No. 1 seed and face No. 8 Gainesville in the first round at 4 p.m. Thursday.
The tourney will be held at Sparta's middle school gym. The high school gym is under repair, after a sprinkler system burst and flooded the gym, cafeteria and kitchen.
The Rollers are an interesting pair. They're both capable 3-point shooters, but in many other ways are a contrast to each other. Ashlyn was born three minutes earlier, but Brooklyn is the more assertive of the two.
"Sometimes it can be frustrating," Brooklyn said of the typical "sister moments" they endure.
"We fight on the court sometimes, usually she's yelling at me," Ashlyn said. "I just take what she says and go with it. She usually says a lot more to me than I say to her. But I'm ditzy."
The rest of the Sparta Tournament field includes No. 2 Forsyth, No. 3 Hollister, No. 4 Norwood, No. 5, Greenwood, No. 6 Hartville and No. 7 Bakersfield.
