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It’s all relative in the Wildcats’ girls basketball program
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The 2014 Struthers girls basketball team is 9-3 overall and 3-1 in the All-American Conference American Division thanks to the efforts of three sets of sisters, including a pair of twins. They are, from left, McKenna Shives, Torre Smrek, Ashley Kane, Caitlin Kane, Halle Smrek, Karli Shives and Holly Kane.
It’s all relative in the Wildcats’ girls basketball program
By Greg Gulas
Like actress Whoopi Goldberg in the movie “Sister Act,” Struthers High School currently has a hit basketball version of that movie and it continues to play at a gymnasium near you.
It’s a “habit” with a family twist and something of which Wildcats head coach John Grandy can become easily accustomed.
Currently 10-3 overall and 6-1 in All-American Conference, American Division play, Grandy has relied on three sets of sisters, including a pair of twins who have helped his Wildcats to a 66-17 overall mark the past four seasons,.
The team, which has won at least 19 games in each of the past three seasons, features sisters McKenna (senior) and Karli Shives (freshman); Halle (senior) and Torre Smrek (freshman) and Ashley (senior) and sophomore twins, Caitlyn and Holly Kane.
“It’s a family atmosphere that has moved from the home to the court. Their parents have raised them well in that they are respectful, are excellent in the classroom and each is of high moral fiber,” Grandy said. “The older sisters have the set the bar really high while the younger sisters really look up to their older siblings. Each one is competitive and has the desire to be the best they can be. They cheer for each other.”
The team leader with 211 points, McKenna Shives currently has 930 career points and needs just 70 in order to become the sixth girl and 11th player overall to score 1,000 points.
Being afforded the opportunity able to play alongside her sister, albeit for just one season has forged a lasting memory for both; something of which the elder Shives is most proud.
“It felt a little strange the first time we stood together on the same court but that is a memory neither of us will forget any time soon,” McKenna said. “We’ve played basketball together and pushed each other the past seven years so it was definitely fun to share in that moment with Karli.
“It’s also fun to see the strides that she has made since the beginning of the season and how much she has adapted.”
Karli, who plays on both the junior varsity and varsity squads, says she has had a great role model as she continues to hone her game.
“The bond we have away from the game is a bond that we’ve just brought onto the court,” Karli said. “My sister is someone that I have always looked up to and it’s an awesome feeling just to be on the same team with her. We’re each other’s biggest cheerleaders.”
For the Smreks, playing together was something each had looked forward to for quite some time.
“We have a great relationship off the court so playing together has been an awesome feeling,” Halle said. “We guard each other and push one another in practice and that helps us to be best that we can be.”
Sister Torre, who also splits time between JV and varsity, said the experience is everything that she expected.
“It’s actually been more fun than I expected. Having Halle here just makes me work that much harder,” Torre said. “It’s a fun, sister competition that I wish would never end.”
As for the Kanes, elder sister Ashley marvels at the competitive nature of her twin sisters.
“I’ve watched them compete in our driveway and now we’re all on the court competing together. It’s an awesome feeling for all of the sisters,” Ashley said. “They’re learning first-hand about our winning tradition and I am confident they will carry it on for the next several seasons.”
According to Caitlyn, their hard work has paid off, Holly notes that there is still a lot of learning for all of the underclass sisters as they adapt to the varsity game.
“We’ve been playing basketball together since we were little and it’s just fun to see how we have grown. The hard work really has paid off,” Caitlyn said.
“Playing together has strengthened our bond and we are a lot closer,” Holly said. “The bottom line is that we want each other to do well because that translates into wins for the team.”
The most important statistic for all seven girls, however, is one that cannot be found on a stat sheet.
That statistic can only be found on their report cards where all remain honor students, despite the everyday distractions of practice and games.
Of the seven sisters, five have perfect 4.0 cumulative grade-point averages while the senior trio enjoys the privileges of membership in the school’s National Honor Society.