Athletes and coaches understand that roles change from season to season. Even from game to game.
That appears to be the case at Parkersburg Catholic as senior guard Emily Koerber has apparently made the move from defensive specialist-to-scorer after back-to-back career scoring nights in wins over Little Kanawha Conference North Division rivals Doddridge County and Williamstown.
"I guess you could say that my role has changed," explained Koerber. "Especially after Liz (Ruscitto) got hurt."
Ruscitto, one of three seniors on the Crusaderettes, went down with a high ankle sprain in December, forcing Koerber to take over as the team's primary ball-handler.
"I've just learned over the years that the role of a point guard changes," continued Koerber. "I learned a lot from Maggie (Boelter) about how the point guard is expected to play, but with Liz injured it allowed teams to focus more attention on me."
That focus forced the Crusaderette playmaker to become more of a passer as Parkersburg Catholic jumped out to a 12-3 mark heading into last week's contests.
With Ruscitto's return to the floor, Koerber has been able to concentrate on her own scoring abilities and the result was a 20-point output in a win at Doddridge.
That was just the beginning. Taking on arch-rival Williamstown at home in a game that held both North Division as well as sectional pairings outcomes, Koerber poured in a team-high 25 points to lead the Columbia blue and white to an 85-78 victory that thrust it into a tie for second place in the division with a home encounter against Ravenswood on Thursday and then a road trip to defending Night of Champions champion St. Marys on Saturday.
"That was a big win for us," said Koerber. "That one really put us in a position to capture the North and we haven't done that since my freshman year. We still have two big games ahead of us this week and we can't look past Ravenswood because they gave us a tough game down at their place."
Wins in both contests would put the Crusaderettes into a three-way tie for the North Division crown and a trip to the LKC's Night of Champions at Parkersburg Catholic on Feb. 11.
"That would be great," continued Koerber. "To play for the conference championship on our home floor would be something that we could always remember."
But, that would be just the first.
"Our goal is to make it as far as we can in the tournament. We know that it won't be easy with teams like St. Marys, Williamstown and Gilmer County in our section and Wheeling Central in our region, but if we continue to play like we have this past week, we can make it happen."
Her sudden scoring outburst has opened other avenues for PC.
"I think it's good. It gives us one more scoring threat to go with Leah (Hughes) and Maddie (Roedersheimer). Now teams have to respect each of us because any player on our team is capable of having a big night."
Not exactly the words Catholic opponents want to hear.
