Aultman Alliance Community Hospital Athlete of the Week | Sophia Gregory of West Branch

During her first year of high school varsity basketball, Sophia Gregory played a wing for a West Branch team loaded with guards.

This season, as a 6-foot-1 sophomore, Gregory is playing point guard, posing problems for opponents with her length at both ends of the court.

While she had to adapt to learning a new position, Gregory has made a smooth transition in her first 16 games.

Gregory leads in balanced West Branch team in scoring (12.5 ppg.) and rebounding (7.5 ppg.), while also showing an aptitude for distributing the ball to teammates (4.0 assists) and defending (4.0 steals and 3.0 blocks).

The Aultman Alliance Community Hospital Athlete of the Week, Gregory's play has helped the Warriors win 13 of their first 16 games, highlighted by a 32-31 win over the Marlington Dukes, the defending Eastern Buckeye Conference champions.

Gregory is a bottom-line competitor, putting the team's results above her own individual statistics.

"It's about the team," she said. "I want to do anything I can to help the team win."

Sophia Gregory thought her coach was joking about switching to point guard

Since West Branch played senior guards last season, coach Walt DeShields knew in the offseason he had to find someone capable of handling that position. His choice was Gregory, a freshman who was out on the wing during her first season.

"I was a boys game last year and he came up to me and told me he wanted me to move to point guard as a sophomore," Gregory said. "At first, I thought he was kidding."

Time progressed to last summer, when Gregory learned DeShields was serious.

"When we played during the summer, Coach had me playing the point," Gregory said. "It was a learning experience. I struggled at first, but he kept me there and I started showing more progress by the time our [summer season] ended."

Summer basketball, however, is different than the more structured regular-season set-up. The nervousness, which vanished as summer league concluded, once again arose when West Branch took the floor for its first regular-season game against Garfield.

"At first, I felt the pressure playing a new position," Gregory said.

Once play began, Gregory made solid decisions with the basketball while also scoring and rebounding. When the game ended, she dished out eight assists, scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. More importantly, the Warriors rolled to a 61-35 win.

That season-opening performance helped lift her self-confidence and she has become more comfortable with her role.

"As our season has continued, it has been a lot of fun," Gregory said. "I feel I've gotten better, although I know I have to continue working on my ball-handling and driving to the basket."

Under DeShields' tutelage, the cornerstone of the West Branch program has been lockdown defense. Gregory embraces that principle.

"Individually, I try to sit down in [my stance] and try to take away the girl's dominant hand," she said. "I want to do my part to help us become a good defensive team. We try to hold our opponents to their lowest point total."

Sophia Gregory's older siblings also participate in athletics

Gregory is joined in the starting line-up by 6-foot senior guard Anna Lippiatt, 5-8 junior guard Hannah Egli, 6-1 sophomore post Livvie Showalter and 5-9 senior post Sydney Mercer. When DeShields goes to the bench, there is more size with 6-1 sophomore Mikayln Fitts.

Gregory's older brother, Josh played football and basketball at West Branch and is currently at Grove City (Pa.) College. Her older sister, Alexis, is a junior at West Branch, where she is a soccer and track teammate.

"Alexis used to play basketball, but she gave it up a few years ago," Sophia Gregory said. "We're still teammates in two other sports and we push and support each other."

Gregory wasn't pushed toward playing basketball, but she became interested in it and started playing competitively in the fourth grade.

"I got the hang of basketball after I started playing, but I wasn't very advanced," she said, laughing. "I kept at it and became better when I got to middle school."

Her work ethic transfers to the classroom, where she has maintained an A average (3.9) in less than two full years of high school. Playing three sports and earning solid grades consumes a lot of her time, but Gregory also has stayed busy with Student Council and with her youth group at church.

While her focus is on West Branch girls basketball at the present, Gregory has stayed in touch with the past. She is reminded of the 2004 state championship team by the picture in the athletic lobby, and she definitely remembers the 2020 team that advanced to the state final four but wasn't allowed to play due to the COVID 19 pandemic.

"I know about the history of this program," she said. "I respect it and when I don't play well, I feel like I've let the program down."

Six questions for Sophia Gregory

What is your preferred social media?

Instagram.

What is your favorite class?

Geometry

What is your favorite type of music?

Country.

What part of your basketball game has improved the most?

My assertive attitude toward it and my shooting.

Where has your team improved the most since your first regular-season game?

We've gotten a lot better defensively.

What are your team goals for the season?

Our team goal is to hold our opponent to its fewest amount of points.

This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: West Branch's Sophia Gregory takes switch to point guard in stride