It's tough to rebuild in a war zone.

Six years ago, Rosemount was riding a wave of success. But a year after enjoying the view from the top half of their conference, the Irish slipped to last.

They have yet to recover. After losing seven seniors to graduation last year, some may see the program falling into a state of perpetual rebuilding. But sophomore guard Hannah Grim has other plans.

"I think we have a lot of potential," said Grim, who leads the South Suburban Conference in scoring at 20 points per game. "We just have to keep staying competitive and working in the offseason."

One factor in Rosemount's turnaround prospects is its top-notch conference rivals. Coach Sam McDonald's young team has played formidable competition twice a week, a painful but beneficial experience.

"It's a loaded conference," McDonald said of his South Suburban opponents. "If you're climbing the ladder in our conference, you're climbing the ladder in the state. Sometimes it's tough on the psyche and frustration levels, but in the end it develops team toughness and a work ethic."

Toughness is an especially important attribute this year for the Irish, who are as tall at center as they are at point guard. That's 5-foot-9, on a good day. Without an interior offense, Rosemount has been forced to find other ways to score. Grim, who just broke the school's single-season points record, has scored more than 40 percent of the team's points this season and has had her hand in countless more.

Rosemount has been outscored by an average of 13 points this year, but that tally is much more pronounced in conference play. On the wrong end of a lopsided score just about every night, though, the Irish refuse to be discouraged.

"It's hard to stay positive and keep moving forwards sometimes," Grim said. "But with the support of my parents and friends it's easier. We definitely have room for improvement, but we've seen that we can play with these really good teams."

The team's on-court floor general, Grim has the court vision and thread-the-needle passing skills to keep the Irish competitive against the best the conference has to offer. But when a team's best scorer is also its point guard, it's tough to have a balanced offense.

McDonald hopes to take some of the pressure off Grim next year by easing her into more of a distributor role. Junior Hannah Halterman and sophomore Kaylie Hanson have proved to be potent scorers, and freshman Ellie Vraa has drawn rave reviews from McDonald.

The key to Rosemount's turnaround lies with its highly touted point guard. Playing with a maturity beyond her years, Grim would be the first to admit that there is still work to be done. But McDonald is impressed with her efforts.

"She needs to stay aggressive and put pressure on that defense," McDonald said, "but there are times to pull up (and take a shot). It's always a tough thing to figure out as a player, but I think she's done very well with that throughout the season."

The South Suburban Conference isn't lacking in elite point guards. Eastview has Madison Guebert, Bloomington Kennedy has Kenisha Bell and Bloomington Jefferson has Britney Scherber. McDonald would rank his sophomore guard up there with the best of them, and believes she will keep getting better.

"How she's improved from last year to this year has been tremendous," McDonald said. "If she's able to make the same jump in the offseason, she's going to be something to really reckon with her junior and senior years. The sky's the limit."

The Irish play Apple Valley on Wednesday night as they kick off the Class 4A, Section 3 tournament. The teams split their two meetings this season, and it is Grim's goal to give a statement to the rest of the conference: The Irish won't go down without a fight.

But even if they bow out in the first round, the Irish are well on their way to becoming a conference force again.

The pieces in place suggest it's just a matter of time.