This year the girls basketball team has a new addition, a transfer from Blair High School. Gueryn Kay and is a sophomore and according to her teammates and coaches, she has been very valuable this season on both sides of the court. She averages .4 blocks per game, which is highest on the team, 6.5 points and five rebounds. Though her stats may not seem outstanding, while watching it is clear to see the difference she makes in a game as she has earned herself a starting spot.
Kay has only been playing at Westside for less than a full season but she already can see the difference between the Warriors and her Blair team.
“Westside’s team has more of a winning and positive mentality, where everyone on the team including coaches, want to win and see everyone succeed,” Kay said.
Blair is a Class B school and Westside is a Class A school, so there can be a difference in the games that are played in the two classes, whether it be pace of the game, skill levels, etc. At first, this switch seemed to be a daunting task for Kay, but now that she is adjusted, she shares what her experience has been.
“Class A is a little different from Class B from how tall and strong the girls are, but I have played with girls like that on my club team,” Kay said. “The main difference would have to be how fast paced the games are.”
Not only has Kay had to adjust to the style of play in Class A, she has also had to just adjust to how Westside plays compared to Blair. Kay shares how she has made herself fit into this team and how her teammates contributed.
“I started to adjust to the team in the summer when I got to know the girls better. Once I started becoming friends with the girls, playing with them just became easier,” Kay said. “The girls on the team all make me feel welcome, and like they all have my back.”
Kay’s easy transition to this team is not only visible to her, but Coach Steven Clark has seen this as well. He shares exactly how effortless it was for Kay to change her play for the Warriors.
“Gueryn has fit in really well to our style of play with her athleticism and how she plays with her AAU program. There is always an adjustment from AAU to high school with all the girls, and [Kay] has been a great fit,” Clark said. “[Kay] likes to attack off the dribble, shoot the 3, and play aggressive, pressure defense. Which has been a big part of our success so far this season.”
In AAU, which is club basketball, Kay has been playing on a team with Jayah Freeman, another sophomore on the Westside team. They have been playing with each other for around three years and Freeman says that she helped to convince Kay to come to the decision of transferring to Westside.
“When she first told me I was very happy, I basically convinced her to come. I was excited for her to be a part of Westside girls basketball and really know what it is about. I was also glad to be playing with her not only in the summertime but now during school as well,” Freeman said.
Since they have been playing together for such a long period of time, they have developed a bond not only on the court but off the court as well. Freeman shares how this has affected their team in a positive way.
“Yes it does [improve our game]. I feel like since we have played together for so long we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, making the game easier when we are together. Our bond has also definitely grown since her transfer, which is great,” Freeman said.
Seeing how Kay has been able to adjust to this team so easily, she has defined herself a role on the team in every aspect. Kay shares what she believes is her role on the team.
“I believe my role on the team is many things from rebounding, playing defense to scoring and getting the ball to the people who are hitting shots. Sometimes it depends on the game, or what players we go up against,” Kay said. “I used to get in foul trouble, or foul out at the start of the season when I guarded girls that know how to draw fouls easily. I had to adjust when guarding some of the best girls on the other teams by not reaching and walling up instead of trying to block them.”
The idea of what Kay’s role on the team is has a lot of similarity to what Clark sees as her role. He highlights what he believes as the most important roles that she plays in the game are.
“Gueryn has been a valuable addition in many ways. She has a positive attitude, is very athletic, skilled, and a competitive player. Her positive attitude spreads throughout the team, and has helped develop our team chemistry immensely,” Clark said. “I saw it this summer, then watching her play volleyball, she had the same energy and enthusiasm that she has during basketball. Her athleticism has made an impact both offensively and defensively. She is a great offensive rebounder, gets a lot of deflections defensively, and can attack the basket off the dribble.”
Kay has future goals that she would like to reach not only during her high school season, but after college as well. With these goals, Kay is unsure of her specific plans, but she knows a rough plan.
“I would like to play basketball in the future. I don’t know where I would want to go yet but I know I want to play in college for sure. My main personal goals are to get my shot down and get faster and stronger,” Kay said.
When growing up, Kay has always had role models, and not famous people. One name is very well known, but her other role model is a close family member.
“My biggest role model is my brother. I used to play against him in many sports, but mainly basketball. I would play him so much hoping to win just one game, and he never let me win. He always was showing me new moves he was learning, and teaching me how to do them,” Kay said. “Another role model, which is my favorite player to watch, is Caitlin Clark, because I aspire to have her fire while hitting shots like she does.”
With this season coming close to its end, Kay shares what she is most excited for in her last two seasons to come and the remaining time this season.
“This season I have had a lot of fun, and made lots of memories with this team. I would say I’m looking forward to winning our last games of the season, and hopefully getting us a spot at state. For the future seasons I’m excited to improve,” Kay said.
Kay and the rest of the Westside girls will be in action again at home on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 3:30pm.
