FAIRBURY, NE — Things are moving fast at Fairbury girls basketball practices this season.

First-year head coach Joan Albury is implementing a full-court press system that aims to capitalize on team speed and yield easy shots at the basket. And in order to play with pace, you need to practice with pace.

“You gotta to do it in a lot in practice because they have to have the stamina, they have to have the wind because anytime you have a turnover, you want to go score on it and then go back and get them again,” Albury said.

Before coming to Fairbury, Albury was the head girls basketball coach at Peru State College. She’s already familiar with many Lady Jeffs after coaching the softball team in the fall. Senior Jami Mans says Albury is the same on the court as she is on the diamond.

“She’s still intense and stuff, which I like," Mans said. "It’s going to be good for us to have that intensity so we can get better every day.”

Senior Karly McCord is the team’s top returning scorer and rebounder. She says the players are taking to the new style of play.

“We’re really working together and moving forward," McCord said. "As we go through it every day, it feels like we get better and go faster, move quicker through practice.”

Albury wants the Lady Jeffs to have a winning season after finishing 11-13 last year… and she wouldn’t mind adding something to the rafters either.

“When they were warming up yesterday I was just looking around and thought, ‘that’s crazy. There’s no girls basketball banner in the basketball gym,’" Albury said. "So, we’d like to hang a banner.”

The season starts Saturday in Fairbury against Fillmore Central.