Jimmy Lafakis/MDN The Minot High School girls basketball team huddles during a practice. The Majettes will begin their season at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 10 in Williston.

When head coach Jason Schwarz met the six Minot High School girls basketball seniors for lunch at Schatz Crossroads in the spring, he delivered a simple message.

The Majettes’ basketball culture rests on their shoulders.

“Our seniors are going to have to be leaders for us this year no matter what,” Schwarz said. “Most of them have been with us since they’ve been freshmen. They know the routine. They know what the WDA is like. They know we have a tough conference. They know we have a big mountain to climb this year, and they’re on board with the changes we’re trying to make.”

Schwarz took his current position in April, replacing former head coach Bernie Wasser. This season marks his first head coaching position since 2012, but Schwarz served as a Minot assistant last season.

Minot finished 4-18 (4-16 WDA) in 2018-19. The Majettes fell 70-58 in a WDA Tournament play-in game against Williston.

A revenge opportunity presents itself at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 10. Minot will open its current season where its last one ended — in Williston against the Coyotes.

“That’s still fresh in our minds for the most part,” Schwarz said. “That’s where we were last together as a group. Hopefully, we can go and avenge that right away and get that taste out of our mouths right away.”

Allie Nelson, Paige Rosencrans, Becca Tschetter, Landry Maragos, Lauren McLean and Tia Haskins comprise the senior core. Rosencrans, Tschetter and Haskins fill the guard spots, while McLean is a forward.

Nelson and Maragos fluctuate between the guard and forward positions.

“We’re a really goal-oriented team,” Nelson said. “We all work together really well. We all have great team chemistry. With all the new changes that coach (Schwarz) has implemented this year, I think we’re really excited for the season.”

Sophomore guard/forward Mariah Evenson and junior guard Alexis Haider also look to provide key contributions this season. Eighth-grade guard Avery Lunde, freshman guard Maya Aguilar and a healthy crop of sophomores give the Majettes youth and additional depth.

Summer workouts served as the foundation for the team’s improvement. The Majettes went through a gauntlet of Monday through Thursday 6 a.m. workouts.

“You look at the banners up there,” Schwarz said. “There’s quite a bit of state titles for the boys. Only one for the girls. At some point, we’ve got to change that. We’ve got to put our stamp on that banner one of these years and then get something going from there. That takes an offseason commitment. We haven’t had a whole heck of a lot of that in the past. We put a lot of time in this summer. We’re trying to change the culture completely.”

Passionate North Dakota basketball fans fill the seats in the wintertime. As they retool, the Majettes are mindful of their games’ attendance.

“Obviously, the boys draw a lot better than we do because they have been more successful,” Schwarz said. “If we want more people to come, we’ve got to get them to come. That’s part of our plan, too. To get more people in the stands and get a little more excitement for our program. We’ve got some pretty good tradition, as we’ve had some really good players come through here in the past. We’re looking to establish our own tradition as well. We want to leave our own footprint.”

When Minot tips off against Williston next week, the slate will wipe itself clean. All of their prior struggles will become things of the past.

The dawn of a new era could be nigh.

“We just want to finish hard this year and go out with a bang,” Rosencrans said. “We worked hard throughout the whole season. At the end, we didn’t get where we wanted. We’ve just got to work hard the whole season and finish it.”

Jimmy Lafakis covers Minot High School sports and Class B high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @JJLII30.