Twin sisters' act drives Cooper's bus

Now in her 14th season as Robbinsdale Cooper girls' basketball coach, Jen Rademacher said she believes her current team is "potentially the best I've ever had."

Juniors Chelsey McGee and Talalyiah Rich entered this week as the team's top scorers, but Rademacher said senior twin sisters Ashli and Jazmyn Lee "drive the bus."

"They are kind of our best-kept secrets," Rademacher said. "They can score inside and outside and get stops. We have a great team of personalities, and they keep everyone on the same path."

Cooper has followed the pair's lead to a 10-2 start this season that featured a three-point loss to Wayzata, a top-10 Class 4A program, and a 14-point victory over an Osseo team that started the season ranked third.

The Lee sisters spoke with Star Tribune reporter David La Vaque about what makes them good teammates and leaders.

Q Did you start playing basketball together or did one of you get into it before the other?

Ashli We both started around fourth grade with AAU basketball but I used to be shorter than Jazmyn so she played up. We never really played together until high school.

Ashli It was cool because we can read each other -- we have a little twin telepathy thing going. It was actually fun.

Jazmyn It was fun because we'd never played with each other before. When we get on the court it seems like she knows what I'm thinking and I know what she's thinking.

Q Scout your sister for me. What does she do well?

Ashli [Jazmyn] is good at attacking the basket. She reads what the defense gives her and doesn't force her shot. She knows when to pass and when to go for it.

Jazmyn Some of [Ashli's] strengths on the court are her post moves. And when she starts hitting from the three-point line, it's nice to see her when she gets hot.

Ashli Just to come from one victory, that's really big. I honestly didn't think we'd get as far as we are now. I'm just glad to be a part of it. We've got good players and no one's selfish. We want to continue to grow and be conference champs.

Jazmyn We've all really come to the conclusion that we want to put a banner on the wall in our gym. We're all staying focused on that.

Q Which game is your highlight so far this season?

Ashli Beating Osseo, that was big for us. We didn't think we'd beat them that bad. We really wanted to beat them because we knew we were a good enough basketball team and we wanted to prove ourselves. But by that much? No, we didn't think we'd win by that much.

Jazmyn Between Wayzata and Osseo I'd have to say Osseo. Only because we'd stayed focused on defense and worked as a team.

Ashli I think it's just staying positive even when things look bad or you don't feel like doing something.

Jazmyn Just keeping everyone focused. We like to joke a lot in practice. But you still have to stay focused and get things done to get better every day in practice.

David La Vaque • 612-673-7574