Sitting atop the Greater Cleveland Conference (GCC) with an undefeated record of 10-0 and continuing to blow out teams left and right, the girls varsity basketball team is on a roll to say the least.

Just last week the team dismantled an already struggling Elyria squad by 49 points– the score after the first quarter alone was 24-0. Trish Kruse, the head coach of the team, described why her girls have been able to sustain such a high level of play.

“At this point in the season we’ve been successful because of unselfish play on offense and a total commitment to team defense,” Kruse said. “Our team has had to play in some tough environments to start the season, and that’s helped bring them closer together.”

After falling short for the past two years in a row at states, the team is hungry to prove that they finally have what it takes to bring a title home to Solon. However, Kruse noted the importance of not letting expectations derail their spectacular season thus far.

“If you start worrying about the tournament in January it makes it hard to reach your full potential,” Kruse said. “Our focus is to improve each day at practice and finish the season playing at a high level. We focus daily on what we control and that is our attitude and our effort. We don’t worry about things outside of that.”

Alexis Stover, senior and Ohio University commit, has been an integral piece of the team’s winning formula for the past four years. So far this year, she’s averaging 12.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks a game– all of which are improvements from the previous season. According to Stover, her excellent performance thus far can be traced back to both the motivation of her coach as well as the hard work her team put into the offseason.

“Coach Kruse really stresses effort and attitude during practice and I believe that prepares us for our hard opponents,” Stover said. “We have been in the weight room more this season than previous seasons because in order to be the best we have to work hard for what we want.”

Stover recently scored her 1000th point, a milestone that only a few high school players have achieved. The team always comes first, but such an accolade is a testament to Stover’s outstanding individual play.

“[Stover] is a four year starter for our program and she has worked hard to help our team succeed during that time,” Kruse said. “We harp all the time that team success is most important, and with that comes individual recognition. This is a great example of how [Stover’s] hard work and determination for our program has led to this amazing accomplishment. Scoring her 1,000th point in her final game at the [Classic in the Country Challenge] was a great way to end the weekend for our team.”

Dee Bekelja, senior and DePaul University commit, is averaging a whopping 19.5 points a game as well as 6.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.7 steals. A team leader both on and off the court, Bekelja has been absolutely on fire all season long and she’s got one goal on her mind: a title.

“I think we do have something to prove since we’ve been to states the past two years…we feel the pressure to finally get the job done,” Bekelja said. “This definitely is one of the motivating factors behind why we’ve been playing so well. We know we have to get prepared for the end of the season. Also, I think on this team we have so much respect for one another so it carries into how we play the game.”

Bekelja and Stover are the only two seniors on the team, so veteran leadership is in short supply. However, it’s clear that despite this disadvantage, the team’s chemistry is without question the driving force in this tight-knit group of players and friends.

“The best part about playing on this is team is how much fun we have,” Bekelja said. “We take the season very seriously, but we also make each other laugh when we are together. I think that’s what I will miss the most. This team is so goofy and there is never a day when I’m not happy to be around them.”

The Comets are far and away the team to beat in the GCC, but it’s clear that Bekelja, Stover, Kruse and the rest of the team have aspirations far greater than just topping the conference.

“Nothing is going to come easy for us,” Stover said. “So we have to work hard when no one is watching.”