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Communication key to success of Comets
(by Tony Lange - November 30, 2011)
Communication key to success of Comets
By TONY LANGE
With key veterans, a recovered senior and fresh talent, the Solon girls basketball team is focused on winning every game it plays this season.
The Lady Comets are coming off a 13-9 record including 6-4 in the Northeast Ohio Conference, but they have three players who can take over a game and score 20-plus points if they need to on any given day, head coach Trish Kruse said.
Senior guard Game Gluesing, sophomore guard Kristen Confroy and incoming transfer Martha Thompson, a junior guard, will be the top point producers, she said.
"I think we've worked really hard this summer and this preseason in emphasizing the team aspect of it," Kruse said. "If we can do that and accept the roles on this team regardless of this game or that game then I think we're going to be a pretty tough team to beat."
Gluesing averaged 17 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and two steals per game for the Comets last season as an All-NOC player. She committed to play college ball next year at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers.
Meanwhile, Confroy averaged 9.5 points, three rebounds and two steals per game as a freshman. She is one of the best shooters in the area, Kruse said.
Thompson transferred to Solon from Lake Ridge Academy in North Ridgeville. She is a very gifted athlete across the board, Kruse said.
During Solons' season opener last Saturday, Thompson scored 20 points, Gluesing scored 19 and Confroy scored 12 to propel the Comets to a 71-22 triumph against Canal Fulton Northwest. Five other players scored the Comets' other 20 points.
The entire team works really well with one another on and off the court, Kruse said.
"When we communicate, we're a very good team," she said. "If we don't communicate and don't talk with each other on the court, then we're just an average basketball team. So, we just need to continue to be vocal with each other on the court."
Other top returners for the Comets include senior point guard Kristen Low and sophomore forward Alexis Gray.
Gray provides size and strength down low, while Low has the ability to control the tempo of the game, Kruse said.
Another key player for Solon is senior Amanda Bevington who is fully recovered from two ACL surgeries during the past two seasons.
Top newcomers for the Comets are freshman guards Jordan Bikelja and Emily Russell.
As Solon's veteran talent mixes with its new talent, the Lady Comets will continue to progress this season and do the things they need to do to compete against the best teams in the area, Kruse said.
"It is just one game at a time, but our goal is to win each and every game that we play," she said. "We want to compete and win the NOC and to win sectionals and to win districts and to win regionals and to see what happens from there."
The Comets next game is at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3 at Mayfield.
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