It hasn’t taken long for the Mesa Ridge girls’ basketball team to get used to not seeing 6-foot-4 Kylee Shook posting up in the paint.

The Grizzlies are trying to replace the state-record 1,299 rebounds Shook pulled down for them over the four prior seasons – 358 of them last season – before graduating. Not to mention the 711 points she tallied last season – ninth most all time for a season in Colorado.

So far, they’re doing just fine.

The Grizzlies finished the first part of the season 4-2, the two losses coming to Class 5A teams with a combined record of 15-3.

The quick start has Grizzlies coach Jeff Beatty pleased heading into their 4A Colorado Springs Metro League opener. He’s seeing plenty of production from his players.

“As many rebounds as she (Shook) got for us, there were a lot of points she took there that maybe our other kids would stand around and watch her rebound because they just knew she’d get the rebound,” Beatty said. “I think we’re working a little harder on the boards now and that in itself lends to other kids scoring, too.”

Mesa Ridge opens league play at Harrison on Thursday and is home against The Classical Academy (5-2) on Saturday night, in what could be a showdown between league hopefuls.

The Grizzlies haven’t missed a beat with Shook gone. While she was the obvious focal point the last couple of seasons, the Grizzlies have transitioned quickly to making everyone a focal point.

Junior Chloe Welch is shouldering the majority of the scoring burden, averaging 17.2 points – the only Grizzlies player in double figures. But she’s also dealing 3.7 assists and grabbing 5.2 rebounds.

Ashley Bowen, who many can see as Shook’s replacement with her 6-3 frame, is nearly averaging a double-double – 8.7 points, 9.3 rebounds.

Angelica Littlehawk, a senior co-captain with Welch, has swung between varsity and junior varsity the prior two seasons. She’s averaging 7 ppg and 7.3 rpg. Senior Britanie Olsen, who scored 23 points in a quarter last season to tie for sixth most in Colorado, is averaging 7.3 points.

“This group is just locked,” Beatty said. “It reminds me of the team we had a few years ago that was fairly successful. They’re just starting to really get feels for ‘OK this kid’s hot, we’ve got to figure out how to get her the ball for a while.'”

Shook, meanwhile, continues to produce at the highest college level. According to the Associated Press, Shook sprained her ankle in practice a week ago, causing her to miss No. 8 Louisville’s past two games. Before that, Shook played in the Cardinals’ first 14 games, coming off the bench each time. She’s fifth on the team in scoring with 5.8 ppg and sixth in rebounds with 48.

Knowing she wouldn’t be part of the program this year, the Grizzlies came into the season expecting everyone to share in the team’s success.

“This year, we’ve changed up,” Welch said. “There’s even scoring across the board. Everybody’s participating. It’s just a better team effort overall.”

The Grizzlies reached the 4A quarterfinals last season, were stunned in the first round in 2015 and won the state title in 2014.

This year’s team reminds Beatty a bit of that title team, especially with so many contributors in so many aspects of the game.

“You can have great players, they can carry you so far,” he said. “But I think to win it you have to have everybody contribute. The more options you have as a team makes you that much more difficult to coach (against).”

Having been around the program the past three seasons, Littlehawk is enjoying what she’s seeing.

“It’s actually kind of different,” she said. “Kylee scored a lot. The ball didn’t get moved around a lot. We just depended on her, to get the ball to her. If we were down, get it to her. But now we pass it. Everyone’s scoring. .

“It’s a lot better, I feel like. We don’t have to depend on one person to score all the points. We have a variety of people who can score.”