Certain names have become synonymous with Utah girls' basketball dominance.

Granger, for one, has never earned the distinction. Since the school's 2001 state tournament appearance, the Lancers have accumulated a paltry 16-121 record and are consistently overlooked in any postseason discussions.

But that's far from the whole story.

When coach Aaron Cousins took over the program four years ago, he saw a struggling program and solid athletes with untapped potential. And from day one, he had a mission.

He wanted to end the Lancers' days of being demolished by 20 or more points a game. He wanted to instill a competitive attitude and solid knowledge of the game. Most importantly, he wanted them to begin to believe they could win.

Now, four years later, Cousins has done just that.

Though it's yet to show on the team's record, Granger is no longer content to just go through the motions. According to Cousins, their former complacency has given way to renewed motivation and determination.

Those goals are still a work in progress. But progress, indeed, has been made.

Cousins was been working against odds that many teams in the state never have to consider.

In his first year, only six players were academically eligible to compete. District funding cuts continued to hurt the school's ability to foster a competitive environment for the team and, without a strong offseason involvement in club basketball teams, the program continued to struggle. Without a precedent for success to back his expectations for the players, Cousins struggled to get his players to regularly attend practice.

But Cousins took things a day at a time and first focused on increasing numbers, improving academic performance and accountability.

"It's only a matter of time before things really turn around," Cousins said. "It doesn't happen overnight, but there is a really good feeling about Granger basketball right now. We want a program that the community can be proud of."

And steadily, Granger has begun to give the community -- and opponents -- reason to take notice.

At first, the Lancers had to hold their own in games that used to be demoralizing blowouts. As those losses began to come in more digestible deficits, Cousins noticed a major shift in mentality.

"When we lose a game it hurts. There is emotion," Cousins said. "That's the sign of a maturing program and it's a major shift in mentality for us. We want to go and win a lot of games."

In turn, the Lancers have become better ball players. Senior Martha Haiola is averaging over 16 points a game, offering offensive production the program hasn't seen since its 2001 playoff run.

Defensively, Destiny DeYoung showed signs of brilliance as she put the clamp down on Park City's Laurel Kasel, holding the Miners' leading scorer to just two points in the second half. That effort is consistently backed by the strength of Mahina Fa'amoe and Lisa Fahooko in the post.

"[DeYoung] is one of the best defenders I've ever coached," said Cousins. "And when we get the ball inside to [Fa'amoe and Fahooko], we're a tough team to stop."

While victories are still relatively sporadic, every one is a monumental accomplishment -- not only for a program that has endured three winless seasons in the past decade, but for the players who worked so hard to climb out of that rut.

"We have worked so much harder. We deserve to win. When we lose, we can pinpoint exactly what we did wrong," said DeYoung. "We all want to win. We all care about it. It's not about any one person; it's about all of us."