The phrase “addition by subtraction” is normally referenced by coaches who are happy to see a bad teammate leave their team, despite the player’s on-court production.

And while that isn’t the case this season for Warrenton girls basketball Head Coach Greg Williams, he believes his 2017-18 roster will see more individual improvements without the safety net they enjoyed last season.

That, of course, was two-time all-state player Jenny Jansen.

“To be honest, we’ll be a better team because we have to be,” Williams said. “We’re replacing a two-time all-stater, so we have to get better all around. And we will. You’ll miss Jenny’s competitiveness and all that she brought, but the girls that came back are going to do more. Kayla (Nelson), Rylie (Cox), Ashtyn (Dixon), (Allison) Tonioli and Brook (Smith) are all going to do more, and that’s how you      offset Jenny.”

The Warriors also lost guard Kaylee Anderson, who combined with Jansen to average 24.9 points for a team that finished 24-4 last season.

The senior trio of Cox, Nelson and Dixon, as well as junior Tonioli, are expected to carry the bulk of the scoring load.

Nelson was second on the team last year with 11.8 points, and led the team with 7.4 rebounds.

“She’ll dominate,” Williams said of the senior guard.

Tonioli is expected to start alongside Nelson in the post, however, the Warriors are expected to run a smaller, quicker lineup.

“You’ll see a very Kansas-like offense,” Williams said, referring to Bill Self’s University of Kansas team. “Instead of the high-low offense, there will be more of a cut-through action.”

Williams said Tonioli’s flexibility will give the Warriors a different look offensively this year.

“Tonioli is stud-city, so she’ll be fun to watch,” he said. “She’s a tough matchup for people because she can post up and she can shoot.”

The Warriors host a jamboree Wednesday against Clopton, Elsberry and Hannibal, and head to Quincy Notre Dame for a shootout Nov. 24.

Other notable games include a road game at Springfield Catholic Dec. 9, the Sport and Spine Holiday Shootout Dec. 30, and the Warrenton Winter Shootout Jan. 8-12.

The team hosts Gateway Athletic Conference North rival St. Charles Feb. 23 in the regular season finale, and will begin its quest for a fourth consecutive district title the following week.

“Individually, we have to get better and good at what we want to do. We’re putting a lot of time into drills and skills, because we’re not going to have Jenny to come in and carry us to the promise land,” Williams said. “But this group really wants it. They have a chance to do something pretty unique, because they’ve played four years and they can win districts four years in a row. It will be tough, but I think they can obviously get it done.”