Gig Harbor junior guard Meghan Edwards putting together another strong season

It has been a strong season for junior guard Meghan Edwards and the Gig Harbor girls basketball team as they had, up until last Friday, been on a six game winning streak in a season which has been filled with some big wins for the team. The loss on Friday, which came on the team’s senior night, still was a rough loss for the team and has left Edwards looking to regroup as a leader of the team.

“Obviously on Friday we faced a rough patch but other than that we came together as a group,” Edwards said. “That was a really crucial game because if we won that it determined if we would be first in league or not. We all came in with confidence and we really felt if we had the right mindset we could have won that game and came out with a win. On top of that it was senior night so we were all just really hyped up and we wanted it to go well for the seniors just so we could honor them and honor our teammates to try to make it to first place in league. We didn’t, which is just not as fulfilling as we thought it would end up.”

The consummate optimist, she still is looking to take the loss and the lessons they can from it as the team looks to move forward. “At the end of the day, that loss was important because we are still learning and we realize what we need to work on,” Edwards said. “I think in the beginning of the game, on some of our plays we didn’t run them right or we didn’t go into them quickly.”

Edwards has been on the varsity since her first year on the team and has been praised by coach Mike Guinasso as having really grown as an athlete.

“We’re moving the ball really well and that’s allowed everyone to get in their niche and work best where they’re comfortable,” Guinasso said. “I think we’re getting her comfortable with what she does has helped her. One thing that she really stepped up doing and has grown into is controlling the pace of the game.”

That confidence and stepping up helped the team through a less than ideal start for the team as they have looked to Edwards to steady the ship. “We had a couple rocky games to start but she’s really been our go to,” Guinasso said. “Meghan takes control of the ball handling spot. She’s comfortable there. I mean, there is her third year playing guard. She’s been comfortable once we’ve gotten into the high school swing now.”

This leadership is something Edwards has taken a lot of pride in.

“As a point guard I think I have stepped into a leadership role because I’m the one who listens to the coach and sets up the plays. I want to bring the ball up and I need to identify what defense they’re in so I need to quickly decide what plays would work best,” Edwards said. “As a point guard I need to be a leader and I’m proud of myself because the start of the season wasn’t my best start but I feel like I’m getting a lot better stepping into my role where I feel 100 percent confident with the ball in my hands.”

Still, there is always room to improve especially when it comes to the scoring production of the team which is something they’ve been focused on in practice. “We work on a ton of shooting in practice because we aren’t a great shooting team. We’re not big so we’re going to have to get better at shooting if we want to do well and go far,” Guinasso said. “I think that’s going to help make her comfortable in the shooting part.”

Even with that need to improve shooting, the team did secure a big win against rival Peninsula in a game Edwards didn’t even see as their best performance which she hopes will get better when they face them again this Thursday. “Honestly, we’ve all agreed that was not our best game we’ve played. A lot of us hadn’t played a rival league game,” Edwards said. “I think when we play them on Thursday it will be a lot better of a game for us because we all know what to expect exactly. We’ve obviously grown as a team since last time we played them so I’m really excited to show them what we’ve got and hopefully beat them by more than what we did because I know the game we had wasn’t our best.”

All of this is building to what the team is hopeful will be a strong playoff run but with the knowledge that no matter what, the team is putting in the work.

“Going forward with the playoffs, she’s really stepped up and done her job. That’s all we can ask, do your job,” Guinasso said.

This focus on doing the job of leading the team was something also on Edward’s mind as she sees the potential for the team to be the best they’ve ever been.

“At the end of the day as long as we go into every game with confidence and we go into a game knowing we gave it our all. I want to go far but if we don’t go as far as we hoped but we went out knowing we did our best, I’ll still be proud of the team,” Edwards said. “I don’t really know or expect how far we’re going to go. I just know as a team, I know we haven’t had a game where we’ve played every single four quarters as our best basketball.

“It’s always one half is really good or the other half is really good. I’m really hoping to see all four quarters come together to make an amazing game because I know we have it in us.”

Once those four quarters end and the game is over, she said she wants to always focus on being a good leader to her teammates.

“Every single year I’ve always expected myself to become better of a leader because that’s my not just a basketball goal but a personal goal. I really want to be someone that is able to solve a problem on or off the court,” Edwards said. “For my teammates I want them to know I can be there for them and on the court I can motivate them. When they’re not feeling 100 percent and they’re feeling defeated I want them to know that I can hype them up. This season I’ve been trying to get better at hyping people up and just picking them up.

Where does she hope this will take her as she moves not just into the playoffs this year but into her senior year next year? The sky’s the limit. “Next year, I really hope to become someone who can run the plays and start having more assists and driving to the basket more,” Edwards said. “That’s something I’ve always struggled with and I really want to seek that out more and practice that more.”

This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 6:00 AM.