ESPN Women's Basketball Recruiting

She's got the name but not the frame.

Lauren Pluimer is, yes, Lindsey Pluimer's little sister, and though she's approaching 6-foot-1, she doesn't have her sibling's length or her 6-4 height. What the youngest member of the Pluimer family does have, though, is that same sweet stroke from the perimeter that got Lindsey selected by the New York Liberty in this year's WNBA draft.

"I've always been considered a shooter," said Lauren, who will be a sophomore at San Clemente, "but I'm more of a banger inside. I'm much more physical than she is -- I'm built different than Lindsey."

But Lauren is still blonde and far from a Kelsey Bone-type on the block. And she's had to deal with being a legend's little sister since she started playing.

"I used to feel I was obligated to live up to what she accomplished," Lauren said, "but I'm my own person."

"From my perspective, it's been hard on Lauren because the expectations are pretty high," said father Rick, who was all-Southern Section at Loara High School and played at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, Calif.

After all, Lindsey's number has been retired at San Clemente High School, and even older brother Landon has had a fine career and is now playing at Vanguard.

"She's dealt with it better than most people would, but it's not like she could avoid basketball," said Rick.

"They took me to my first game when I was a baby," said Lauren, who's seven years younger than Lindsey. "I've been to so many basketball games."

And many of them were coached by her father, who still works with Cal Swish. Even though the girls were tall (mother Pam is 6-0), "I always tried to play them at guard," said Rick, "but due to the teams she was on, Lauren had to play more of a power forward."

But mixing it up was something she got used to early. The backyard games were fierce, with Rick and Lauren going against Landon and Lindsey -- but one-on-one games were strictly forbidden.

"We can't play one-on-one in the backyard because it gets too physical," said Lauren. Rick was more blunt.

"There were fights," especially between Lindsey and Landon, who are separated by less than two years.

All that competitiveness, all that basketball and all those trips tagging along with her older siblings have made some things easier for Lauren.

"It's an advantage," she said. "You know everyone. It's like home."

Lauren is still the baby on her summer team, one of three 2011s (and the youngest of those), but she doesn't mind.

"Since I was in second grade, I've been playing up," she said. "Competing with older and better girls can only make you better."

And if she couldn't find that in AAU games, all she had to do was go find Lindsey.

"She's always been encouraging," said Lauren. "She motivates me. She's been there before, and she knows exactly what I'm going through."

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Clay Kallam is a contributor to ESPN HoopGurlz. He is the founder of Full Court Press, an online magazine devoted to women's basketball; the author of "Girls Basketball: Building a Winning Program" and a voter for several national awards, including McDonald's and Parade All-Americans and the Wooden Award.