Last season, she was starting from the bench, and even earlier this year the 1.85m forward was still sitting out the beginning of the game.
Her role was to add spark from the bench and spell the likes of Jodi Brown and Te Paea Selby-Rickit.
But with the unavailability of a raft of players, the 20-year-old student has suddenly been thrust into a starting role for the finals of the Women's Basketball Championship, which will be staged at the Edgar Centre, in Dunedin, over the next three days.
Brown and Selby-Rickit are both on netball duty for their country. Brown has been named in the Silver Ferns squad after a five-year self-imposed break, and Selby-Rickit is in Australia with the under-21 side.
Casey Lockwood and Patrice McKenzie have been ruled out with injuries, and Daneka Wipiiti is overseas.
That has left the Goldrush in a bit of a predicament. The defending champion is short on big bodies, which is where Allan comes in.
"We've lost a lot of height, but that is all right. We've just got to step up our game," Allan said.
Her brother, Tom Allan (23), is a member of the Otago Nuggets squad and encouraged Grace into the sport when she was about 15.
"He was my first coach and I just grew up playing [basketball]," she said.
Unlike some of her team-mates, Allan was not tempted to double up and play netball.
"They tried to get me to play netball but I said no. At school you can either go to netball or basketball tournaments so you'd have to pick, anyway. So I just focused on basketball."
Speaking of focused, Allan recently discovered she is short-sighted and has taken to wearing glasses and contact lenses in the last two weeks.
"I was having a bit of trouble in lectures so I went for an eye test with my sister and turns out I needed glasses and contacts.
"It [my eyesight] is not terrible but contacts make a huge difference.
"I can catch the ball a bit better now," she joked.
Jokes aside, coach Brent Matehaere said he has actually noticed an improvement in Allan's ball-handling skills since she starting wearing contacts.
The Goldrush dominated the tournament last season and dispatched the Nelson Sparks 72-57 in the final.
Allan did not get on the court but said she learned a lot just watching the likes of Lockwood and Suzie Bates go about their work.
"It was a really good experience playing with so many talented players."
The personnel losses mean the Goldrush will start as an underdog despite enjoying a home-court advantage. Otago has been drawn in section A and plays the Harbour Breeze this morning and the Hutt Valley Flyers in the evening.
The winner of the section will go straight through to the semifinals. The two runners-up play a crossover game against the two runners-up from the other section.
The final is on Saturday and there is also a plate competition running simultaneously.
Women's Basketball Championship
Today's games
Championship
Harbour Breeze v Otago Goldrush, 8.30am, court 1; Nelson Sparks v Taranaki Trojans, 8.30am, court 2; Hutt Valley Flyers v Harbour Breeze, 1.30pm, court 1; Waitakere West Auckland Rangers v Taranaki Trojans, 1.30pm, court 2; Otago Goldrush v Hutt Valley Flyers, 6.30pm, court 1; Waitakere West Auckland Rangers v Nelson Sparks, 6.30pm, court 2.
Plate
Waikato Wizards v Palmerston North Storm, 10.30am, court 1; Rotorua Lady Vols v Canterbury Wildcats, 10.30am, court 2; Southland Pearls v Waikato Wizards, 3.30pm, court 1; Canterbury Wildcats v Palmerston North Storm, 3.30pm, court 2; Rotorua Lady Vols v Southland Pearls, 8.30pm, court 1.
Goldrush team
Grace Allan, Danielle Calnan, Samara Gallaher, Kelly Groot, Nicole Hellyer, Soraya Umaga-Jensen, Renee Johnson, Janet Main, Kelly Nafatali, Summer Roberts, Natalie Smith, Sophie van Velthooven. Coach: Brent Matehaere.
