KC's impressive sister act
KARNS CITY — Freshman guard Emily Hegedus is in the open court, heading in for what should be an easy layup.
But Hegedus is fouled and crumples to the floor.
She's OK, but older sister and Karns City senior guard Annie Hegedus is fuming.
And she wants blood.
“I tend to be a little overprotective of her,” Annie Hegedus says, chuckling. “She gets fouled hard and I just go crazy. I want to hurt someone.”
Junior forward LeeAnn Gibson has the same anger coursing through her veins when her younger sister, sophomore guard Alyssa Gibson, is knocked to the floor by a hard foul.
“I'm pretty aggressive anyway,” LeeAnn Gibson says, laughing. “When she gets fouled, I've been know to yell, 'Hey!'”
The Karns City girls basketball team has a unique dynamic this season: Two sets of sisters share the court frequently.
LeeAnn and Alyssa Gibson are starters. So is Annie Hegedus. Emily Hegedus is the sixth man for the Gremlins.
For the Gibsons, it's a special situation that is not lost on them.
“We're lucky,” Alyssa Gibson said. “We talk about it a lot, about how special it is and about how not many people get the opportunity to do what we're doing.”
The Gibsons will have three years together.
For Annie and Emily Hegedus, this is the only season they will be able to play together.
“It's been so great and we've always been close,” Annie said. “I just wish I had more than one year playing with her.”
Emily Hegedus said she has been dreaming of this season for several years.
She played in junior high at Butler Catholic, but was a regular at her older sister's varsity games through the years.“I watched Annie's games and it pumped me up to be able to play with her,” Emily said. “It also made me anxious.”Before her first varsity game this season, the nerves were almost overwhelming to the younger Hegedus.But once the game began, she settled down.That impressed Annie.“I'm so proud of her,” Annie said. “She was timid and scared at first, but she's come out and played well.”Both sets of sisters are excelling in their roles for the 12-3 Gremlins.LeeAnn Gibson is averaging 13.3 points per game while Alyssa Gibson is putting up 6.8 points per contest; Emily Hegedus is averaging 9.3 points per game coming off the bench and Annie Hegedus is scoring 5.7 points per game, but is close to 10 assists per contest.The Hegedus sisters have a similar skill set.Annie has always been a role model for Emily on the court.“As a point guard before, I know the pressure Annie is under,” Emily said. “That makes me want to work even harder for her to get open.”Meanwhile, the Gibson sisters are very different players.LeeAnn is one of the most dominant post players in District 9 while Alyssa is a quick, slashing guard and a terror on the defensive end.LeeAnn sees that as an advantage.“Honestly, it's more of an asset. When we shoot around, she shoots and I rebound and we can both work on our skills at the same time,” LeeAnn said. “She can work on her dribbling and passing into the post, and I can work on my inside moves and finishing. We're opposites, but it works for us.”
