By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Solomon girls basketball team will look to finish their season on a high note, with two games remaining before the sub-state tournament.
The Lady Gorillas have operated this year with a roster featuring all-freshmen and just one upperclassman, but have persevered through a brutal schedule, entering the final week of the season at 2-14.
“We've asked a group of girls who were in the 8th grade to compete at the varsity level so our goals for the season and for each game are to try and control what we can control,” Solomon head coach Bill Scheef said. “We can control our effort, our attitude, and body language, and for the most part, the girls have been successful in those things.”
The biggest struggle for the Gorillas has predictably been settling into the Varsity game without any real leadership or experience, something that has led to a number of tough losses throughout the season.
“We want to develop a sense of team and self-confidence, but that’s a hard mountain to climb when dealing with full-court pressure and the scores that can get lopsided,” Scheef said. “We're playing experienced, well-coached teams that apply lots of pressure, and these girls deserve medals for their persistence. It would be easy for some kids to give up but I haven't seen too much of that.”
Solomon was able to persevere through two hard-fought victories in a season sweep of the Centre Cougars this year.
From the start, this season was always more about development than wins, and from that perspective, the Gorillas have found some success with a roster full of freshmen.
“There's been measured growth in some areas and individuals but this group of girls needs to continue to come to practice each day with the approach of getting better,” he said. “We're not going to make them great offensive players during the in-season, but we've talked to them about making a commitment to those skills during the off-season."
Solomon will take on their area rival in Bennington on Friday night before traveling to Inman for their regular-season finale with the Teutons on Tuesday.
For continuing coverage of both Gorillas basketball teams throughout sub-state stay tuned to the Salina Post.