Afraid? Not K.D. Spencer Roman. For one thing, she's tougher than Clorox. For another, she's got two big brothers who are bigger than a breadbox and a dad who could bench press a dump truck.

But then, sometimes there's a line thin enough to be spread across a Ritz cracker between blessings and curses.

Like this: It's a blessing to be so tough, but what happens when toughness leads to a dislocated jaw?

Or this: It's a blessing to have two such accomplished brothers, but do you feel sometimes you're caught in a familial spin cycle?

This is K.D. Spencer Roman, the youngest of the student-athletes in one of the most prominent sports families in this corner of the world. And Wednesday night is all about her and her teammates: New London High plays for the ECC Division I tournament championship at Norwich Free Academy (streamed live on theday.com at 7:15).

Roman is a favorite of New London coach Holly Misto, who is partial to the kids who take charges, dive after loose balls like they're $100 bills and stick their nose into the fray. Roman did as much in last season's state championship game, only to be rewarded with a shot to the jaw from Capital Prep's Desiree Elmore.

Roman lay motionless. It was late in the game. The three officials missed it. Had the call been interpreted correctly, New London might have won the game. Replay wasn't an option. Whalers lose.

"They had to re-adjust my jaw and it put it into place," Roman said. "It took a few weeks to heal. Luckily, I didn't get a concussion."

Did the ordeal change her? Make her reluctant to have another chance meeting with an elbow? Please. She's a Roman.

"I don't think about it and I don't try to play scared," she said. "My brothers don't."

Misto: "She's all over the court. Hustle. Some of those things you just can't teach. You need those kids willing to do those things: dive on the floor, chase down loose balls. A lot of kids won't dive on the floor or get caught in a scuffle. She will lay it out there for the team. That's why we're successful."

Roman's frame of reference to sports: her brothers. First, J. Hunter Roman, who plays football at Yale. Then D. Major Roman, a senior at New London, headed to Yale next year. Whoa.

It is a loving household, sure. Still, how does one compete with brothers who aren't merely all-state athletically, but attend the Maserati of universities?

"It's funny, sometimes my dad will be talking to people and he'll introduce his sons and forget about me," Roman said with a wry grin. "I'll be like, 'you have a daughter too.' He says, 'oh, we're talking about football.' But I don't feel overlooked. I'm blessed to be following in their footsteps. It gives me another level that I need to hold myself to."

Spencer Roman may well attend Yale, although this fall she was talking Stanford. And there's no denying that sports have been an avenue toward an identity separate from her trail-blazing siblings. She's a joy to watch, if for no other reason than you never know when she'll leave her feet and swan dive into the pile.

"It can be overwhelming, having my brothers looked at so greatly," she said. "Major lets his game talk for itself. I want to let my game do the same. I'm not 6-5 but I'm going to play like I am."

Misto would like Roman to embody the ideal of what the Whalers need to look like in the next few weeks. Not the team with two stars — Division I players Jada Lucas and India Pagan — but a harmonious gathering of floor-divers who want the ball worse than Tommy Lee Jones wanted Harrison Ford in "The Fugitive."

And the Roman shall lead them.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro